Dear Dad,

Within the last couple of weeks, two friends of mine have each experienced the grief of losing their father. Whether your father is a pillar of the community, a deadbeat dad, an author of dysfunction, or just a regular joe, he is your father and you love him no matter what. For better or for worse, both negatively and positively, a father shapes who his children grow up to be. That’s a pretty heavy responsibility for fathers!

Thinking about my friends and their fathers, brought to mind my own father. He was taken from us much too early, dying just days before his 60th birthday as a result of a head-on car collision.

I was looking through old photo albums trying to find pictures of my father, and discovered I don’t have very many. In most of the photos that I did find, he was holding or playing with my young nephews. Oh, how I wish you could have met my sons, Dad. I think you would have really enjoyed them too.

I have an early memory of my dad coming home on a sunny summer day, and as he walked through the yard where I was playing, he greeted me with a happy “Lizza Pizza!” I can’t recall just how old I was, perhaps 4 or so, but that moment is indelibly printed on my memory.

The most impacting words my dad spoke to me were after high school when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life and where to go, and my dad said to me, “No matter what you decide, we will always support you.” Those words have stayed with me. They were words of support, affirmation, blessing and love.

Dear Dad,
Thanks for loving me. I still miss you.
Love, your Lizza Pizza