Its been almost 2 years since dad has passed, and sitting here on mothers day with my family, watching my girls scramble around to make breakfast for my wife and maker her cards I began to reflect on many things. The first being my family and how I am surrounded by so much love, and that is a source of pride and happiness, but there is also sadness, because while I have so much around, I also have lost so much, I suppose there's some jealousy because I lost my mom in 1989, and although I found my birth mother, and initially things were good, circumstances changed in what seemed like an instant, and those feelings of having a mom to share with my kids and family disappeared, I feel like I lost her just like I lost mom in 89, the same emotions all over again. And just as this was happening, dad passed, there I was, grieving over the loss of my birth mother and I got a. Call from my uncle telling me that dad was gone, I was so far away, I couldn't afford to go to the service, all I could do is call and offer Donna my condolences. In the years running up to dads passing we had begun to mend some fences, but I didn't get the opportunity to really talk to him, ask some of the things that I wanted to ask. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's had taken the answer to all of my questions, and I didn't get the chance to tell him that he was my Hero. It has been the past 2 years that I have gotten some answers to the questions that I've had, these have come from friends that dad and mom had from the Marine Corps as well as dads friends/squadron mates. And these men and women have only reinforced my image of dad, he was a hero, my hero. I always thought I had time to talk to him, I thought there was time for him to meet his granddaughters, for then to see what I saw, a hero, now all I have to share with them is a military service record, a couple of pictures, some great stories from the few men he served with and my memories. I have tried not to let my regrets impact sharing things with my girls, and I hope that dad and mom can look down and be proud of me and my family, but most importantly, I hope that my hero, my dad, can forgive me. I miss you dad, I wish you could see how alike your granddaughters are to you, they both draw, are athletic, and are both quiet but are leaders, both of them are carbon copies of you, and the stories your squadron mates have told me just reinforces that, I can see you in them every time I talk to one of them and they tell me their memories of you. I miss you and love you dad.