re: For those of you who lost your father, how old were you when he passed?

I was almost 32, but my wife was pregnant with our first child, a boy. As it turned out, I was the only son of an only child, so it was going to be kind of a big deal for him to know that continued. He lived just long enough to actually know it was a boy, my wife having gotten an ultrasound on a Friday and he died the following Monday.

So for me, the hardest part was becoming a completely different person with the birth of my son, and then four years later his younger brother, because I eventually became the type of person and father I'm sure my Dad always hoped I'd be, but had yet to live up to while he was a live. It's been incredibly tough watching these guys grow up never having met the man who was so hugely responsible for who I am, and in large part for the way they have been raised.

It does get better, but that hole never gets filled with anything else. I miss the guy every day...and it'll be 20 years this April.