Dad,

I often cringe at the fact that I told you that you didn’t do a very good job as a father. But I also wish you had refuted that. Instead, you were hurt, and didn’t speak up in your own defense.

By the way, I remember you making a point to let me know that you disagreed with my stance that there is no right and wrong. Recently, I’ve changed my mind about moral relativism.

Maybe one of the most useful memories I have of you are the many times during my adolescence when you told me, “if you want to repudiate the values of society, you have to have something better to replace them with.” It tool more than 20 to recall that and to process it.