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<p>Two years ago today, I took some time after my son went to bed to vent about how trying and difficult our first day of remote learning had been. I had no idea when I sat down to complain about our cramped quarters and my hatred of technology that the blog I started would end [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, This has been an exhilarating two weeks for G3. Today, his very first publication came in the mail. He was so excited tearing open the envelope. For the last month, he had been growing impatient waiting for it. It’s one thing to be told that your work has been accepted, it’s something else [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, On Saturday G3 had his first tournament since switching schools. It has become apparent that we made the correct decision when we decided to move. Even though I’m not really superstitious, even though I don’t think I believe in the afterlife, I have sometimes caught myself wondering why G3 did so badly in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, I’m sad that you aren’t here to see G3 return to school. Something just feels incredibly wrong. The last time he was in school, you were alive. Now he’s back, but you’re dead. We’ve partially come full circle, and yet, the circle can never be fully closed. Sending G3 back to school, in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, G3 is going back to school tomorrow. I wanted to keep him home another semester, but he doesn’t want to be home anymore. Middlesex school district has an awful rating. I didn’t want him going to a bad school, one that would negate all the time I invested in him during the last [&hellip;]</p>

<p>G3 wants to go back to real school. I’m torn by his decision. Yes, I completely agree that he needs to return in order to be with peers. He needs friends. I can’t argue that point. He will also benefit from having a science teacher who will hopefully know a great deal more than I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, Happy Valentines Day! Twenty-two months ago you died. Even when the fourteenth of a month is supposed to be happy, a shadow hangs over it. How is it that nearly two years have passed since you went on that cruise that killed you. Two years ago, you couldn’t wait to get on the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I have always been fascinated by Native American history and culture. I’m not sure what sparked my initial interest, but as far back as I can remember, it’s always been there. When I was in third grade, I had to do a project for the school science fair. I clearly remember telling my mother that [&hellip;]</p>

<p>If there is one thing that has never been in short supply in G3’s life, it is books. The kid has more books than some libraries. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but seriously, look in our basement, there are books exploding out of countless bins. And those are the ones he’s outgrown or has [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, It’s been so cold this week. Yesterday, the feel-like temperature didn’t leave the single digits. Today, it was a bit warmer, but it still never rose above freezing. On Sundays, I like to get out of the house, even if it’s just for a short outing. Being stuck in the same house, day [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, Aunt Alberta died last week. I guess you already know that. As always, death is sad, but what complicates the sorrow is the betrayal. Still, it’s hard not to think back on the good times. I remember how close you once were to your brother and his wife. The four of you — [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Currently, G3 is working on two merit badges so that he can catch up to his peers in Boy Scouts. Last summer, due to COVID, we didn’t send him to summer camp. The deadline to register was before the vaccine became available for kids. If we had known that we’d be able to get him [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, We celebrated G3’s twelfth birthday yesterday, but without you here, I don’t know how to make the day special for him anymore. What he always looked forward to most on his birthday was seeing his grandparents. He knew you hated New Jersey. He knew you hated crossing the river, and yet every year [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, I’m good at crying. I’ve always been really good at crying. If only it were a marketable skill, I would never again have to worry about money. But lately, it’s all I do. I cry when I wake up. I cry myself to sleep. And throughout the day, I think of you and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, You would have loved Hawkeye. It was fantastic. The final fight scene took place on the ice at Rockefeller Center. The last time G3 and I were there, we were with you. As if watching Marvel shows isn’t enough to make me think of you, last night as we watched the finale, it [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I’m not a doctor and I’ve only read a little about PTSD, but I’m willing to bet I’m experiencing some form of it after Dad’s death and my stay in NYC at the hight of the first COVID wave. It’s little things that lead me to believe this. For instance, every time I hear an [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Last month, after finishing Animal Farm with G3, I decided to do a unit on short stories. It was something different, and in doing a series of short stories, I’d be able to introduce him to more authors than if I stuck to longer works. I included my two favorites: “The Circular Ruins” by Jorge [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, On Sunday, G3 went to a birthday party that he had been looking forward to. Sadly, instead of it being the fun and exciting time he expected, he ended up learning a very difficult, but very valuable life lesson. The party was for one of the boys who goes to his former Taekwondo [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, I’m having trouble with the holidays. I’m trying for G3 to be cheerful and do all the things he loves, but it’s so hard. Everything about Christmas makes me think of you and every memory is yet another reminder that you are no longer here. I can’t even listen to Christmas songs without [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, We had an incredible weekend. It was so much fun. But it still didn’t detract from how much I miss you. I can’t believe this is our second Thanksgiving without you and if anything I missed you more this year, not less. Mom had Thanksgiving and worked incredibly hard to make it nice, [&hellip;]</p>