My dad in his late 20s
I loved my dad. I know that I’m lucky in that regard because many men are estranged from their fathers or have strained relationships at best.
Part of that problem is that most guys aren’t great at expressing emotions or words. It’s difficult to build a relationship in that kind of communication vacuum.
I was fortunate to have a good relationship with my dad. But that ended when he died of a heart attack almost six years ago.
Shortly after his death, I relocated my wife and girls to the greater DC area and there have been major milestones that I wish he could have shared with us. Here are 10 of those things.
10. The fact that our youngest and oldest are both playing instruments.
9. Our oldest selected and featured on a radio commercial on WTOP in DC.
8. The completion of my first (and five subsequent) marathons.
7. Our family all taking karate classes together and earning our green belts (we’re working toward purple belts next).
6. My dad was a die hard carnivore, so we would have loved him to try the Brazilian uber-meathouse Fogo de Choa in DC.
5. My father’s favorite hobby was gardening, we wish we could have shared the annual blooming of the cherry blossoms every spring with him along the tidal basin by the Jefferson Memorial.
4. Last summer, we vacationed for a week at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland – he would have LOVED that.
3. The completion of my book A Question of Faith and its bestselling status.
2. His first grandson with the Constantino name.
1. Lastly, I wish I could have shared the past five Father’s Days we’ve missed as well as the upcoming one.
Question: What’s something you shared with your father? If you’re a dad, what’s something you love sharing with your kids?
