I was very open with my dad. When he was a young kid his dad passed away and my dad never got over it. His stories and guilt over not going to visit him and bring him a tie he requested one day shaped how I see relationships. My grandfather passed away that night and my dad never got to correct that mistake. Pretty hard for a 15yo to get over that and my dad spent his whole life in regret.

Due to this, I told my dad i loved him all the time. I spoke with him openly and let him know he was appreciated. I would always be there to talk to him and he was there for me. We did not have a great relationship through my teen years and I think this only worked because I moved past the bs and accepted things how they were. For the last 16 years I lived across the country from my parents but they were my best friends. I attribute this to how I was raised due to my dads experience.

Two years ago I lost my mom to cancer and tried to get my dad to come live with me. We always spoke together on the phone and did video chats with him, my 3yo child and me. This helped with the healing process and was my way of letting him know he was not alone. I can tell it kept him from sinking into deep depression

One month ago I lost him and my childhood home to a house fire. He was suddenly ripped away from us and all I have left are our memories and some photos I thankfully took from the house a couple of months ago during a visit. As I sit and remember this man and all the great times we had together I feel at peace because he knew exactly how I felt about him.

You never know when you're going to lose someone. All you can do is make the most of the time you have now. Don't hold back on the things you want to say. Let them know how you feel and what is going on in your life and find out what has happened in theirs. It will make the time you have together special and the memories will be of love and not regret.