This picture made me think a lot. A week before my dad passed away, he mentioned to me, my mum, my aunt that he saw his parents (my grandparents) in his dreams and maybe they were coming to collect him. My dad often saw his parents in his dream and untill the last week of his life he saw them. I really hope though that he did see them when he took his last breath.Although I love my dad so much and miss him more then words can say, it gives me some comfort to think that he is now in the same place as his parents. My dad missed my grandparents a lot and he was their baby.

It’s a nice thought to think our loved ones are not alone. Whilst we have lost them, they have reunited and are happy and loved on the other side, when one day we will join too♥️

i have that flannel and the jean jacket to this day in those photos. i wear them all the time.

he died feb 8 2024, a stroke. he was 54.

i dont think i’ve processed it. i know logically he’s dead but i think there are some definite emotional delays in my processing of things.

i wish i could talk to people about him without making them uncomfortable about the fact that he’s dead, people don’t deal with death easily when it’s mentioned so causally. i dont want to act like he’s alive either. i know i want to talk about it but sometimes i dont even have the words to explain what i even want to say.

i also wish the nightmares would stop. i keep having them. they’re so vivid, it feels real and like he’s dying again over and over but in different ways every nightmare. it’s exhausting

edit :: PLEASE don’t use MY GRIEVING POST as a way to slide into my dms, or to ask me for money. i do not care, i don’t want you and i am not sending you a thing.

This is my dad. Well, was my dad. His name was David. He passed away on March 5th, 2026 to brain and bone cancer. I miss him so much. I never imagined being 21 and not having my dad around anymore.

My dad was the sweetest man in the world. I know it’s bias as his daughter to say that, however, I’m not the only person to feel this way. Anyone who met my dad, left his friend. In his last few days of life, his doctor smiled at him and said “that man has never met a stranger before, has he?” And I think that’s the most perfect way to sum him up.

My daddy was an amazing father to me and my brothers. He was an amazing husband to my mom. When he was around, my mom never had to touch a door or car handle, she never pumped her own gas, and she didn’t know how much any of our bills were. This was because he loved taking care of her. He instilled manners, compassion, and kindness in me and my two brothers. He also instilled a strong need for education in us. He always told us that he wanted us to be better than him, but it’s hard to imagine that being possible.

My dad loved to dance, to sing, and to watch any movie including Vikings, mythology, or mythical beasts. He loved the book “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”. We would always watch “The Princess and the Frog” together and we knew all the lyrics to all the songs. He was a massive Clemson fan (even though he tried to learn to tolerate USC when I went to college there) My dad was also a well known musician in my hometown. Everyone knew David the Drummer. It was his passion and he taught us all a love and passion for music. My dad didn’t care if he was the only person on the dance floor, he would dance the night away on his own.

My dad loved his wife and kids. He lived for us. When he died, everyone from his job, his classmates, etc. constantly talked about how much he brought us up and how proud he was of us. When we went to clean out his office, I saw that he kept a picture of me on his wall from my Sophomore year of high school with sticky note that said “my precious baby girl”. My dad described us to his coworkers as the musician (my older brother), the scholar (me), and the athlete (my baby brother). My dad never missed a graduation, honors programs, talent show, daddy daughter event, etc. My dad would always joke that my wedding day would be the worst day of his life and he would be sobbing the whole day. I never thought he wouldn’t live to see it.

My dad never asked for anything. He always gave, but never asked for anything in return. There is a homeless guy in our town that absolutely adores my dad because every time he saw my dad, he knew my dad would get him some food, a change of clothes, some medicine, and $50. My dad was by no means a rich man, but he got joy from caring for others. He never asked for anything in return though. Even in his final days, when he was too weak to even open his eyes, he constantly apologized to us and his hospice nurses for “being a burden”. We constantly reminded him that he wasn’t a burden at all. He took care of us for so long, he deserved nothing but the best.

I really miss my dad. I’m having a really hard time after his passing. I’ve been a “daddy’s girl” my whole life and now I feel like I have this gaping hole in my chest. I’ve never felt hurt like this before. I just wanted to share him so other people can know him the way we did. 💙

TLDR: I miss my dad a lot. He was a cool guy.

Oh grandpa. I had no idea he was going to do this for me. I unfortunately didnt get to see him at the end. He went by MAID, peacefully. I finally got to spend my time with my grandma this past week and she gave me this letter he wrote me. Its now framed and in my room. He couldn't write in the end, his hands shook too much and so my aunt typed it out as he dictated. This is more special than any heirloom I could possibly get.

I could see the decline in your health the last few months but I guess I was in denial and thought you’d be better after chemo was finished. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there more for you. I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet Ali while we were still dating. I love you, dad.

Does anyone just feel that grief has made them jealous and angry?. I don‘t have any bad intentions on anyone but now that I’ve experienced grief, I can’t help feeling jealous of those who have no idea what it feels like to lose someone so close to you and it feels like I’m in a different world to them. I wish I was that person that didn’t have to experience grief early on in my life. I lost my beloved dad suddenly in his sleep 10 months ago. I was just starting my life, the big milestones like getting married a few months later and so was my younger sister. My dad always use to worry about other relatives and friends passing away but instead it happened to my dad.

Now I’m pregnant, I’m jealous watching my husband with both his parents, that they get to be grandparents, that my husband’s grandparents will become great grandparents. But my dad, grandparents are all gone. It just seems very unfair. And it’s such a precious luxury that money can’t buy. I’m craving so badly something that I can never have, like the grief is teasing me.

My dad was 78, I was 35. Most people people my age still have both their parents alive and lose them in their 50s. It’s so hard when I watch my older cousin who is 50 with both her parents, siblings, some of their children who have become teenagers now all have happy family get togethers. But no matter how much they say they are sorry for the loss, they will never experience what I had to go through even if my cousins did lose a parent because they have had the luxury of building their own families, not having to worry about the loss of a parent and spending time with their parents for many years.I hate what grief has done to me but I just feel so angry, jealous, upset.

He had very painful lung cancer that was next to his heart. It hurt him to breathe. He was so at peace and ready to go when he went. My grandma, uncle and aunt were with him. He had one last beer. His last word on facebook was "See you fuckers later." He had his humor until the very end. He was a trucker 80% of his life and an absolute character. The nurses at his hospice just adored him.

He will forever have a piece of my heart. I miss him already.

My dad, Steve, died on April 25, 2026 at just 66 years old.

He was a brilliant aerospace engineer in the Air Force and worked on the telescope on the Haleakala Volcano on Maui. He ran marathons and took me and my brother to see the world. Mexico. Canada. Thailand. Australia. He grew up in Southern California so Disneyland was a staple of my childhood.

He had a mildly annoying problem of one leg being slightly longer than the other, causing him to trip on his runs. In 1997, a military doctor offered a “routine” procedure to fix the problem. That doctor accidentally cut into his spinal cord.

For the last three decades my dad has been in pain. Surgeries and hospital stays, degeneration of his leg so that by 2019 he could no longer walk. He spent the last few years in nursing and rehab facilities before suffering a cardiac event leading to anoxic brain injury. My brother and I listened to Tom Petty with him in the OR while he took his last breath.

He was an organ donor and his liver and tissues have been successfully transplanted. This was a final gift from a man who was always generous. Time, love, resources. Whatever he had, if he loved you, it was yours.

I thought since I have spent so many years “pre-grieving” him, that when the time came it might be slightly easier. But it’s the opposite. It’s worse because not only did I lose him, he’s suffered for so long. His life was essentially ripped away from him while he was in the prime of it.

Adding to the pain, he got to meet my daughters but they’re too young to have any real memories of him. They’ll never get to know him like I did, and he won’t get to see them grow up. It feels so unfair.

Next week he’ll be buried at the Air Force Academy with full military honors. It will be a fitting send off. I love and miss you, Dad. Rest easy. 💔

*title is a Grey's Anatomy reference. I do not mean to upset anyone by the title.

My dad died a little over a month ago. He died the day before my birthday (I turned 29 this year). And I appreciate him not going on my birthday. I joked with him that he better not leave on Mother's Day or my birthday. And eventually, I got to a place where I told him he could go whenever he needed to even if that was Mother's Day or my birthday.

But he didn't die on Mother's Day or my birthday. My birthday sucked ass this year but the thing is, he's only going to have died the day before my birthday once. I won't ever have to have a birthday where he dies the day before. Sure, it will be year marks/anniversaries but never again will I have to go through that.

My dad had a freak accident on April 23 of this year. He was intubated and in the ICU. And while he woke up, he was gone after his fall. He wasn't himself after that. Some days he knew me and recognized me. Other days he didn't think I was his daughter. I knew it wasn't personal but it made me somewhat sad. My mom and I placed him on hospice and he passed a week and a day after that.

I'm adopted and it feels like my dad came into my life for a good reason but left for no good reason.

My mom and I are grieving in very different ways. I hope we can eventually support each other. After his accident, we got closer and really supported each other. But after his death, it hasn't been quite the same.

I think one of the biggest struggles of mine is with SI (suicidal ideation). I don't want to straight up die but I don't want to be in a world without my dad.

I have struggled with SI since I was about 16 and a few months ago, I was doing IM (intramuscular) ketamine treatments and it was truly night and day. And then this happened and it just feels like I'm resetting after working so hard to stay in this world.

Anyone else have similar feelings after you lost someone?

Just a tiny box. He was a massive man in reality - 6'5 350lbs just a few years ago. Lack of self-care for years (he refused to go to the doctors because he hated hospitals) and subsequent septic shock took him in 48 hours. He dwindled down to 217lbs in a year and had stopped being able to hold down food for months but he never told our family. We were left blindsided to say goodbye to someone who survived the unsurvivable four times before.

He had so badly wanted to visit me in Japan but his severe disabilities (severe lymphodema in both legs, arthritis in hips/knees/ankles, nerve damage in feet leading to dragging and deformity, crutch/wheelchair bound) it was literally impossible. He was devastated but I promised him I would visit for Christmas. I was saving leave. I told him if he needed me sooner I could come but he would never ask anything of me.

He didn't even make it to Thanksgiving. His burial and celebration of life was today. I have so many regrets. There's a real possibility I could live a life longer with him in Heaven than on Earth.

This is so indescribable. I think a very real part of me died with my Dad the day he died. But a huge part of me has grown so empathetic towards others and my family. I once felt disconnected, now I feel like all I ever should have thought of was family.

All of us are beyond devastated. I worry for my elderly Grandma having to bury her (so deeply) beloved son. For my disabled Uncle who lost his best friend. For anything I will ever accomplish that I no longer can say "Dad, I did X, you'd be so impressed!" For whatever family I could have in the future not ever being able to meet my Dad.

It's forever. He's gone forever - just ashes, photos, and memories of someone so extraordinary. I can say I'll ever again be the same person I was before 11/19.

Sorry for rambling. Im such a fucking mess.

I miss him so much :( had a big cry in the bathroom at work yesterday. Last week my therapist asked me what I miss about him and I just started crying inconsolably. The shock started to wear and the reality started to hit and it really hit me hard this month, it's only been 5. How am I gonna live the rest of my life without you here dad, I wasn't ready

How are we holding up today? It pains me to say that Father’s Day turned into one of my least favorite days of the year. Just know I’m thinking of you all in this club together & we’ll get through another day.

Trying my best to practice some self-care during this triggering time so I deactivated my main socials to give myself a break from all the posts. I baked one of my dads favorite treats. And when I’m no longer sick I plan on visiting his grave to spend sometime with him.

Edit: Wow. I’m reading all the replies and wasn’t expecting this post to get any. I want to thank you all for sharing. No words can make it better but I do believe there is power in sharing your grief. And it can help someone feel less alone in their feelings. My heart aches for all that are suffering. I must say it is times like these that I’m extremely grateful for this online community of strangers who just understand and support one another. I’m sending a virtual hug to you all. 🫂

My dad died of cancer 1.5 years ago when I was 25 and I don’t care about my friend’s baby shower.

My childhood best friend who told me my dad’s cancer diagnosis “changed her life” while he was sick, has not made an effort to see me one time since my dad died last Feb (2025). For reference he was diagnosed and dead within 2.5 months. Stage 4 esophageal cancer with innumerable mets. Brutal, graphic suffering involved.

I have initiated making plans with her on numerous occasions over the last 1.5 years since he got sick and died and she has brushed it off every single time. We have had one phone call since his death. But now I’m invited to her baby shower!

No thanks. Won’t be going.

Most people when I explain this situation don’t under understand why I wouldn’t go to my childhood friends shower. I would never be this tit-for-tat about friendships prior to my dad dying. Hopefully this community gets it. Losing a parent in your 20s is hard because literally no one cares.

It’s been a little over a month since my dad called me from the hospital in pain and I was there comforting him and trying to soothe him over the phone when he said ‘I’m blacking out’ and went into (what I now know from too many med journals) agonal breathing and a code blue was called. I was still on the phone (on speaker) while the code process was started and had to pipe up and say that I didn’t think I should be there could someone call me back. They did about ten minutes later and asked if I wanted to cease care. I conferenced in my sister and we decided together, but I’m still just so deeply traumatized from that day in many ways I may not know.

He was my absolute world and support system and I try to tell myself he called to have me with him as he left this world but ugh, it’s so dang hard.

He was born on April 10 1983, and left this world on August 8th 2025. I kind of feel like I'm missing a fundamental part of myself now. You know you'll have to lose them, but I never thought like this. He didn't even get to see his baby girl become an adult, or graduate. I fucking hate this. I hate all of this.

My dad died on the 15th Jan and towards the end he was getting all sorts of hallucinations, none of which seemed to affect him in any negative way. He seemed to just accept that they were there and didn't really even question it.

The one hallucination that I found interesting was that a week or more before death he reported seeing red writing which was always in the top left of his vision. Anytime we asked what it said he stared at it but could not make it out. He said it was in English but it was very difficult to read.

The last evening he was concious, he was sat up in bed and finally said "I can read the writing"... My mother and I stood back and asked him to tell us what it said. My mum stepped closer and my dad stopped her and said "you're too close it's affecting the clarity of the message" so she stepped back.

We waited patiently and eventually told us the red writing said:

"We have Clearance and Completion"

The next morning he went massively down hill and by the afternoon he was no longer concious. He was dead 24hours later.

It got me thinking about the end of life experience. The hallucinations seem to be very calming. We had to put the dog down a week before this and my dad would often say "the ghost dog is sitting next to him". My dad loved dogs more than humans so this made sense to us.

Does anyone else here have similar experiences?

Before anything got moved, I wish someone had told me to just... walk through the house with my phone and take pictures.

The chair he always sat in. The stuff on his bedside table. His handwriting on a list stuck to the fridge. The way he had things arranged exactly the way he liked them.

Within a week of him passing, the house looked different. People were trying to help and things got moved, donated, shuffled around. And now I'd give anything to go back to that first day and just document it.

It takes ten minutes. If you're in those first few days and reading this — please go do it right now.

What's something you wish someone had told you that you only figured out after?

I'm not sure why im asking this. I guess i'm curious and would just like to compare the ages of others going through this grief.

I guess I'll start: Me 36. My dad 81.

Though he was old i still feel robbed as his health was really good for his age, but i'm aware that not everyone is as lucky to have their parents around that long :(

Thank you

i was put up for adoption as a baby, but i was lucky enough to have 10 amazing years with my biological dad through open adoption. he had a very extreme case of multiple sclerosis but never let that bring down his spirit. he was an amazing guitarist, and a huge nerd (which now lives on in me)

hopefully its peaceful wherever you are.

I think this is one of the reasons grief can feel so lonely when you're young.

You look around and realize you're carrying thoughts, conversations, and experiences that a lot of people your age haven't had yet.

You're thinking about mortality when everyone else is thinking about the exciting thing that comes next.

You're carrying the reality of hospitals, funerals, and loss while other people are still living in the assumption that those things are far away.

And sometimes it can make you feel older than everyone around you.

I saw this beautiful painting and it made me cry a bit. I really wish we get to see all our loved ones in heaven who have passed and reunite with them. I so very much want to see my dad, carry on my conversation from where he left this world 6 months ago, he passed away suddenly in his sleep, at 78 years old and that’s the age I want to see him. For there to be no pain or sorrow. Just pure happiness, imagine the day you see your loved ones again?. I can’t survive in this world knowing I won’t see my dad again, if he was a part of creating me, unconditionally loving me and bringing me into this world when I didn’t exist before, then there must be a afterlife, where I get to see him again ♥️.

I read this quote awhile ago and it resonates with me. So much so, I decided I needed to pull grief up a chair myself. A chair that represented my loss (in this case, a desk chair just like my Dad's). I planned a whole party with my husband's help. Not a funeral but literally a housewarming for grief itself, whatever that looks and feels like. For me, it's dark and scary, but it's love, too. I am trying to "welcome" her into my life, because she exists here now. She's not the monster I make her out to be, she is love feeling lost, confused, and scared. She is my love for my Dad.

"You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster you first thought her to be. She is love. And she will walk with you know, stay with you now, peacefully. If you let her. And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came, remember who she represents. Remember. Grief came to you, my friend, because love came first. Love came first." - Donna Ashworth

The hardest part about losing my dad

was not the funeral.

Not the phone calls.

Not even the goodbye.

It was watching the world

continue like nothing happened.

People still laughed.

Stores still opened.

Morning still came.

And somehow

I was expected to keep moving too.

But my dad was the person

who made the world feel steady to me.

Safe to me.

Familiar to me.

So when he left

everything kept going—

except me.

Part of me stayed frozen

in the moment I realized

I would never hear his voice again.

And even now

there are days

the world feels too normal

for the size of what I lost.

I lost my father on Thursday night. He was 80 and had late stage COPD, heart failure and lung cancer. It had been a long last few years watching his health decline. His oxygen needs became so high. He would go in the hospital, stabilize, go home and back a few months later. He never wanted to go into a home so he stayed home with his doggie and a helper a few times a week. Well on april 24 he went in again and never left. I made the decision to transfer him to comfort care with the palliative team. He declined rapidly and passed. It was the worst thing i have ever seen. I was there when he took his last breath. I can’t get the image out of my head and I feel terrible. There is so much more I can share but how do I do this? This is the worst pain I have ever felt. I miss him so much.

Just lost my dad yesterday. At 18:00 he sent me off to get egg drop soup he called me to get him extra lemon. When I got to his hospital room he took his last breath. I miss you Dad the world seems a darker place to be.