By way of further explanation for my blog absence this week: My father passed away on Monday. It was not unexpected, but no less difficult because of that.

I focus a lot on moms at this site, because many of us are raising our children in mom-only families. At root, however, I would not be half the parent—or the person—I am today if it wasn’t for both of my parents, my mom and my dad. It is not the gender of our parents that matters as much as the love—and I could never doubt my dad’s love.

I won’t make this into a eulogy, because my father was a fairly private person, and his life is not mine to share here. Suffice it to say my family and I will miss him more than I can express.