Before I turned six, I lost my grandfather in his battle against cancer. With my mother’s parents dead long before I was born, I lived most of my de without a grandfather.

In many ways, my Uncle Pat filled that role. In many ways, he was well suited for it as the larger than life figure he was.

My Uncle Pat was extremely successful in life, and he had a number of absolutely gorgeous suits.

As I for older and got to be his size, he just gave me five of them so I could have them for special occasions, job interviews, and for work.

In time, I grew to be an even taller man than he was, and the suits because a snug fit. As a result, the last time I would wear one of them was at his funeral almost a decade ago.

I then put them away carefully knowing I never would wear them again. I put them away because I didn’t know quite what to do with them.

As my wife and I have begun cleaning out our house to make more and more room for our boys’ stuff, I came across the suits again.

This time, I knew what to do with him.

My uncle’s grandson lost more than a grandfather the day my uncle died. He lost a father figure too because years before my uncle’s death, his own father died of cancer.

Not even a teenager, and he lost father and grandfather.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of watching this boy become a man. A big strong man much in the build of his grandfather.

I knew my uncle would want him to have these suits, and so, I loaded them in the car and drove to my cousin’s house.

On the way, I bought a couple of Sam Adams, the same beer my uncle got me on the day I graduated high school.

Upon arriving, I showed him the suits. Gave him a couple of bucks to get them tailored. We popped open the Sam Adams, and we toasted to my uncle’s memory.

After that, I came home and had fun with my boys. As I went to bed that night I thought about how lucky I am to be father. More than that, I thought about how lucky I was to not only have a father, but to have my father be a part of my boys’ lives.

I get to celebrate all of that today.

For others, they don’t get to celebrate it unless someone finds some old suits and is in the mood for a cold Sam Adams.