My dad is one of my favorite people in the world. He had a very tough childhood as 1 of 9 kids who lived in poverty in Philadelphia. His father died when he was 7, his mother when he was early twenties. He battled alcoholism and dabbled in drugs for years ( got sober at 36). He didn’t graduate high school. He was a tough guy. He was married to my mom at age 19 when she became pregnant. The odds were stacked against him, but he persevered. He had every menial job you can imagine and some you definitely can’t! But he is a wonderful father. It’s something he has always excelled at. When I was diagnosed with the cancer he was the one I needed to see and hug. My parents lived in Florida when I was diagnosed - he was moved back to my area within 5 months. I spend as much time with him as possible. Football season he’s here for every Eagles game, staying the night if it’s a late game.
My oldest son has always been very quiet, but with my dad he is so open - he still lights up when he is here.
He wasn’t perfect, but he did the best he could and it was always more than enough IMO. All of his siblings have passed and I see it saddens him. My brother hasn’t spoken to him in almost a decade and it diminishes him. But the world is a better place for me because he’s in it. I make sure he knows it