My pops was good .
Was never really there emotionally for me and my sister but was there for everything else (his dad wasn't in his life that much after divorcing my grandma at an early age to only remarry and have another family I didn't know much about till two years ago) He was also stationed in Korea for the first three years of my life (they had no family residency ) while he was in the air force which explained a lot why we felt distant at times. However, I clicked with him better than my mom when we did bonded for we shared the same interests.
He was reserved and strict with us but he couldn't stop raving about me and my sister to all his friends. Just rarely showed that side to us . We didn't know he was really like that until he passed away 17 years ago and all of his friends came up to me to tell me how much he loved us. Guess he didn't want to make us think he was soft, lol. I only saw the man cry twice: once during church service and when someone stole his car
He was very social with people , having a lot of friends in a lot of different places. Had over 700 people at his funeral including prisoners wives and families (he was a correctional officer) Sometimes too much generousfor family members would try to take advantage of his gratitude. However , despite that, he put our family first when he died . Let's just say he was with his investments the same way Tupac was with his music before he died . He was the breadwinner and he made sure that his leeching relatives weren't going to get what his family got when he died

It's like he never left when it came to that
He taught me how to be a provider when I eventually have a family of my own. Plus I get my sense of style from him too

However, I learned to eat better, not to trust everyone and put family first more emotionally and physically. Things he wasn't the best at because his lack of a father in his life.
If he was still alive , I'm sure we would have more of a bond but I'm not sure if him and my mom would still be married . 50/50 TBH right there . He was a wanderlust like me , always traveling on his own or with friends. Not much of a good idea doing so when you're married
I think of him daily though for I do miss him.
