Tomorrow will be the first Father's' Day for the 6 kids in our family to be without our beloved Dad.

A reason to be sad and for sure we all mourn the loss of our parents for our entire lives.

I had a very special connection with our Dad as his oldest son. We were chess partners up until 3 days before his death!!! I devised his daily exercise routine more than a decade before he passed. We shared hundreds of very unique things. 

There is nobody else on the planet that I had this with. A spouse, no matter how awesome is a different relationship.  But losing Dad is ok. All those memories and relationship still LIVE IN ME. My entire existence and all those early life lessons and the later life special relationship with him. It's still in me today. 

           https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9556005-every-man-has-two-deaths-when-he-is-buried-in

Ernest Hemingway > Quotes > Quotable Quote

      “Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal.”    

  ―      Ernest Hemingway  

+++++++++++++++++++++

 I made Dad extraordinarily proud  the last 45 years of his life. Made it clear that his dedication to me growing up, thru some challenges paid off in dividends X 10.  He was so proud of the key role that he played and I told him every year how much I appreciated it.

How lucky that I was still getting to tell him this when he was 99 years old!

If you have a loved one with feelings like that, make sure to tell them. Tell them a lot..........while they're still here. They probably won't live to be 99 or you either so don't wait. The sooner you start, the more times you can do it and when they pass away or you pass away, the one left behind will not have to live with the regret of not doing this more often.

I also got to spend the last 2 weeks of Dad's life with him and had 6 visits to Detroit in less than a year in his last year.  This is almost impossible for everybody that lives in a different state than their parent. But I got to do that! 

How lucky that my schedule allowed this in his last year. My wife's support and siblings(who also did many out of town visits) support has always been the best.

I have a sister, Colleen that lives in Detroit that saw him every day of the year(except on vacations) for his last decade. She must feel the same way........even more so!

Cherish your loved ones while they're here.

If it's too late and they're gone already, just know that it's not too late for everybody else in your life. 

In my early adult life I was an extremely selfish person that did bad things and hurt numerous people. This haunts me at times because I can't go back and change that or fix it. I'm so sorry this happened and it was never intentional. Luckily, it was the complete opposite with my parents.

They invested everything in me, especially Dad and he was handsomely rewarded in the end!

                A tribute to our Dad, Frank Maguire 9-16-1925 to 11-21-2024            

                            Started by metmike - Nov. 22, 2024, 2:04 p.m.            

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/108740/