Hi Simple Girl,
We give you our heartfelt condolences also. Billy and I have both lost our Fathers. They are irreplaceable.
For me it's been 12 years since I lost my Father, and I still miss him terribly.
Funny, but I feel I understand what his life was like more now, than when he was alive. As I age, and (like LG4N said) we step up to the plate ourselves as adults, I see the stresses and challenges he must have faced in leading our family.
I wish I would have known it when I was younger, but that isn't the way Life works.
Let Love lead you on...
Akaisha and Billy
Authors, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement