The subject line for the email read <Hey, son. From Dad.> Nico noticed the sender was not in his contacts. What’s Dad doing? he thought. Did he get a new email address?

Nico’s dad sent him an email at least once a week to tell him about life back home, on the other side of the country. Nico had left home a dozen years ago, leaving behind his east coast suburban roots to venture first to Idaho for college. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he didn’t return home but accepted a position in Oregon. He’s been there for the past 8 years.

His relationship with his dad had always been satisfactory for Nico. His father was a kind, funny and caring guy; not tough on discipline growing up but not a pushover either. Nico didn’t get everything he wanted, how or when he wanted, but he got enough love and guidance from his father to mature into a grateful, well-rounded man. Nico’s father was a stalwart defender and provider; always ready to lend a hand with a task, offer unsolicited but welcomed life advice in the form of a personal story, or lighten the mood with a deliberately poor Dad Joke. Nico couldn’t have asked for a better father.

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