8 years ago today...

My dad died of sudden cardiac death at 56 years old. I miss him as much today as I did the day he died. I wish he was here to know my kids. He would love them so much. I wish I could call him whenever I wanted. He was full of wisdom and always had great advice. A few of my favorite memories of him include all the years he coached my (and my sister's) soccer team (I think it was 9 years). All the other players wished he was their dad, but we were the lucky ones. I remember him tearing up because he was so proud of me when I received an admission letter to a Masters program and when I crossed the finish line of my first marathon. I love that he was a solid, pure person and didn't need material things to make him happy. I miss seeing him in his "uniform" of dark brown pants and a green shirt (we teased him that he looked just like an Andes mint). I miss seeing him relaxing on his back on the floor (even though we had a very large couch) resting his head on his thumb watching boxing or football on TV. All four of us daughters (and of course his sons) could tell you all about Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Durrand, Floyd Patterson, and Archie Moore (among others). The Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers were his teams along with the Cougs (BYU). If it wasn't one of those teams playing, he always cheered for the underdog. He always thought of everyone else first. He was unselfish. He was loyal. He made the best of every situation. He had perspective. He was one of a kind. We miss you and love you dad.