I will always remember my dad in the smell of freshly powdered-sugar donuts, the song “Piggies” by the Beatles, backpacking trips, lying in the grass, overly boisterous laughs, playing board games (particularly The Farming Game), and every act of openhearted love.

He was the greatest example of selflessness and childlike joy I will ever know. He had a way of finding curiosity and care in the simplest things, of loving people generously without ever expecting anything in return. He was a Christian Science Lecturer, and his signature talk was about why everyone is needed; a title that perfectly encapsulates his worldview and how he lived every single day.

I feel pulled to carry those parts of him with me now and forever: the tenderness toward animals big and small, the delighted enthusiasm for ordinary things, and the way I try to show up for the people around me.

I will miss him for the rest of my life, but I will keep finding pieces of him everywhere. Always together, just a little different now.❤️