Father's Day. If your father could come back to life for just one hour, what would you tell him?

Question

"I wasn't there that morning When my father passed away I didn't get to tell him All the things I had to say." from the song, In the Living Years. When my father died he was so weak from cancer that there wasn't much I could say or that he could respond to. I have thought about what I could have said, sooner, but the words never came. I am sure I am not the only one. One always thinks there will be a little more time, but time slips by sooner than we think.

Answer 1

My father also died from the awful C. He went into a coma and lasted an agonizing ten days. He died much like he lived, always battling the odds. He was not one to admit defeat, didn't matter
that the C was going to win, he would not allow it to win without
a fight.

I'm not sure he was ever told enough how what he did for his family was appreciated. He was a blue collar aluminum plant worker who worked three shifts for 25 years. He had no hobbies,
he worked. He regreted his lack of formal education and always
felt somewhat inferior when in the presence of someone more educated. Didn't matter he could speak fluent Slovack, knew sign language because he had three deaf brothers and one sister, or took continuing education credits at Penn State for labor studies, as he was an officer in his local union. He went
to night school for his high school diploma, and graduated the
same year as me. His family came first, you messed with his
family in any way you did so at your own risk, as you would be
his enemy for life.

I would want to Thank him, perhaps better now that he is gone and there has been all that time to reflect. Thank him for his sacrifices made to support his loved ones. He was a man in the true sense of the word, one that I am proud to call Father.

Answer 2

My dad got diagnosed with Cancer and he just got through the Chemotherapy and then he took a heart attack. The doctors have said he should have died but he's pulled through.

I don't live near him but I travel from London to Glasgow every month and I call him twice or three times a day. Asking everything I can about him from his childhood friends, old girlfriend and all of his memories. I know he loves me and he knows I love him more than anyone in the world.

I have learnt don't leave things too late. Tell the people you love how much you love them and what they mean to you cause you never know you might never get the chance again.

I'm sure your dad knew what he meant to you and he's always with you. All my love and prayers

Answer 3

I'd tell him "Thank You," but it would be the classic backhanded compliment.
My father was a hard-core drunk who abandoned us and left my mother in heavy debt when I was 7 and my sister was 4. He occasionally came back to visit, but contributed nothing at all to helping us or in any way being a father to us. I missed him so much and treasured the times he would visit...but he still wouldn't stay around to do his job.
One time when I was about 13, we went to the grocery store together. After we left, he told me that he stole half the things we bought, saying that he would pay them back when he made his first million. I was appalled.
The last time I saw him, I was in the Navy stationed in Alameda, CA. He was on his way to a bridge tournament in Reno, and it was cheaper for him to fly into San Francisco, so he stopped and visited me. That was the first time he'd deigned to see me in over 9 years. Gee, thanks.
He dropped dead of a massive heart attack a few months later at the age of 53.
So, if I had another hour to spend with him, I would thank him for showing me all the WRONG ways of doing things and treating people, thereby teaching me that in order to be a good person, I must do exactly the opposite of what he would do.
Did he love me and my sister? Maybe...maybe not. If he did, he sure didn't prove it by his actions.
I'm happy to hear all the stories of how people loved their fathers and had so many good times with them, but my life just didn't turn out that way. But don't get me wrong - I'm not bitter or resentful, nor do I seek sympathy. At this point, I just accept it for what it is. Life isn't fair; I'm an adult and can deal with that.
(P.S. Every time I hear "The Living Years," it always affects my eyesight; makes it kinda blurry...)
(P.P.S. Thank you for asking such a cathartic question.)

Answer 4

My father passed away from Leukemia when I was 7. If I had an hour with him, I wouldn't tell him anything at first, I would simply want to hear his story, his fears, his dreams, what his life was really like for him.

All I really have are brief memories from a child's perspective, I have no idea what he was really like...only what other people tell me he was like...and sometimes, well most of the time, that's just not enough.

Answer 5

The only stories I ever remember my father telling me was of the last war. He passed away at the ripe old age of 96, lucid until the very end.
Today, if I had that chance, I would ask him about his personal life, why it took the turns it did, his life with my mother.
We never really get to hear their side of the story, about what things were like for them and why they ended up doing certain things.

Answer 6

I read these responses from people who have lost their fathers and I am saddened that they have passed-on while mine, worthless soul that he is, still breathes air; I guess, for some of us, time doesn't slip by soon enough...

But know that I would gladly, and without hesitation, snatch the life right out of him were it to give just one of you that precious hour with your father.

Father's Day usually comes and goes without my notice of it but, if for only this year, I will recognize it through the recollection of the warmth and respect which lies within these poignant answers...

Answer 7

It wouldn't be so much what I would say as what I would show him. My family. The grandchildren he never met. Our home.
I'd simply show him that we're doing well and that he did a fine job raising his son.
Because at the end of the day, that's a parent's job and fondest wish.

Answer 8

Being as I was two when my dad died, now it's 39 yrs later...I would love to be given that hour to spend with him and maybe get to know him some.

Answer 9

my dads still around thank god (knock wood). i love him to death, he's my best friend, he's always there for me whenever i need him, and he's just a really great dad. after my mom died when i was 2 he stuck in there for me. he didnt ditch me, and he worked his *** off and took care of me the best way he could. he raised me to become the man i am today and i can never thank him enough for that. If i could tell him one thing, it would be "i love you dad, you're my hero".

Answer 10

I think The Wanderer's Shadow and I have the same father.