I'm not trying to blow sunshine up your skirt, Ann, but having read your stories for some time now and learning what devastating losses you endured as a child and teen, it's admirable-unto-miraculous that you turned out to be so intact and someone whom others have depended on for their well being and sometimes, I'm sure, their very lives. I'm glad for you that you have found peace with your father, and for him that he got a chance to at least partially redeem himself in this lifetime by being a decent grandpa. As you know, my relationship with my dad was full of painful places too — but like you, I can see now that he was woefully ill-equipped to be a father and was doing the best he knew how. This is an eloquent, heart-tugging piece.