Soon it won’t bring you down. Like that Wilson Jr song says. It’s the kinda pain I prey don’t fade away. If you weren’t hurting, there be something wrong.
I think of my dad and brother everyday, it usually ends with a chuckle. Man they woulda had fun on the trap line, but really, they’re there. It’s the odd -40 winter day, suns out, I’m all by myself miles into the bush looking a set that a wolf just schooled me on. I look up and smile asking what they’re laughing about and what I’m supposed to do about it…..lol. Crazy I know, but I’m not trying to impress anyone anymore and don’t really care. In the bush, I talk way more by myself than when I’m with my buddy Freezer…..lol

Sorry for your loss.

Lost my dad back in 1986, 30 minutes after the birth of my second daughter.

I'm sorry for your loss, Bowhunter. And for the rest of you.

I miss my dad. He died in 2019 and he owned and collected tons of "stuff." Right now, we're first going through his things because my mom needs to move from the house they've been in since 1969 to a smaller place without lots of stairs. My dad has so much stuff. Cool stuff. I sit and talk to him while I dig though it all. He loved trains, boats, airplanes, cannons, other firearms, all things electrical and mechanical. Books. It's like trip after trip to my mom's to visit my dad... I brought home more stuff yesterday. I miss him so much.

The little things of his remind me of him and give me comfort. Things we both laughed about and saved when everyone else told us to throw them out. He never threw much away and now I don't either. Poor Zim!

I'll listen to your song, Bowhunter.

lost mine two weeks before my 9th birthday
Forgotten a lot about him . Remember some

This sounds weird but thank you all for sharing your pain and grief and how you are dealing with it.

We all appreciate the songs and the stories. Especially the stories.

If any others of you want to share a story please do. I have a story I have told before but I just can't type it now.

My Dad died April 7 2010 his funeral was April 10. my wife's birthday. We spent all our woods time together. He instilled the love of nature in me and my siblings and enjoyed his grandchildren.I read some where "Grief is the memory of Love" that works for me. Sometimes in the woods in the quiet I can see our times together like watching a movie.

I had to say good bye to my father and best friend Feb 2025. I miss him every day. You hear the thing about your father being the only man that wants to see you achieve more than him. Pretty close. I had the opportunity to move in with him and take care of him for almost 6 years before he passed. Had every conversation you can imagine multiple times - no regrets. Was actually happy that he went out in his own time and a peaceful way. But nearly every day I miss the talks and sharing in daily life. As I watch my grandbabies grow, I know what/who they are missing out on.

It doesn't sound weird at all, Bowhunter. Thanks for listening to our stories. I'll look forward to hearing your next one.

Good to read some positive memories regarding out dads. Mine and my 5 siblings were not so fortunate. Due to alcholism and other signifcant issues he left us when I was 13. He died in 1974 when I was 27. He could not hold jobs for long and while working on my own during HS and college he would come and ask for money, which I loaned to him and never got it back. The above posts are a reminder to me that things are not always easy or fun and that is one of the reasons I have worked hard to be a provider and care taker for our children and grand children, even if the memories are not what one would have hoped they could have been.

Bryce

The most fulfilling memory of my Dad was when he gave me the greatest approval any man/husband/father could receive. I've told this before so it is a repeat.

Dad and I were in the back garden. Every year my daughter tells me which salad tomato she wants me to plant and she snacks on them til it dies. I told him this. He chuckled how I did this just for her.

He was walking with me looking at the plants and munching on tomatoes as we talked. He would kick and pull weeds as we talked.

I bent down to do some weeding and clearing. Out of the blue he said, "I wish I would have had a Dad like you."

A gust of wind hit my face and I literally could not breath. I said,"What?" He repeated himself. I, for one of the few times in my life, was speechless. A feeling of unworthiness and completion came together in that moment.

I made my Dad proud of me. He approved of me as a man/husband/father. His approval meant the world to me as I didn't get it often. But to hear him say something of that magnitude made me feel accomplished. To this day, besides my salvation, marrying my wife and seeing my children born, there has never been a greater day. The day my Dad gave me his greatest approval.

That's my story.

I would love to hear any of your greatest memories of your dad.

My biological dad passed last feburary, never was much of a dad but was still a weird feeling when he died, still a weird feeling. The man who raised me is a helluva father though, am blessed ro have him.

That is a wonderful story, Bowhunter. I was waiting for that one. Thanks for sharing it.

I have many of my dad. I'll try to pick one. I'm heading back to my mom's again tomorrow to continue milling through his stuff before my mom gets ready to move. I'll be thinking of him again all day.

I am lucky to still have my dad around, though I know the time is getting shorter.

One of the fondest memories I have is one of the first times he visited us at the house we are in now, standing on the deck looking out over the yard, creek and pond, he simply said "grandpa would be proud." His dad was a hard man. Grandpa always wondered why Dad never bought a place out in the country, instead of a subdivision. My dad saying that to me meant a lot, and I cherish that memory.

Great post, not a downer by any means, IMO.

I learned so much from my dad when it came to trapping, hunting, fishing, etc. He was in the wholesale minnow business for many years. Summers we spent seining minnows. Winter we trapped minnows through the ice.
His primary trapping target was mink and beaver. If we had time in the summer we would also trap snapping turtles and sell them to a buyer. We learned how to process turtles from that buyer.

Precious memories I will never lose. Thanks, Dad!