I am honored and blessed, to be a father. My own father once told me that there was no greater goal for a man than to be a good father, and I tried, in that fumbling kind of way that Men try to be honest and sensitive beings with one another, to tell him that he was.

It’s been a little over a year since my father passed away, and last Father’s Day, I was still mourning the loss of my father. This year, I just miss him. I’m not sure I am a good enough writer to explain the difference, but there is one and it’s very significant.

Anyone who knows me has heard me say, probably a lot more than once, the words “Well as my Dad would say…” preceding some bit of folksy and often corny philosophy that I will recite–or one of his trademark phrases to express his amusement at the trials of life–both big and small.

As any parent and child have–we had our ups and downs over the years. In the last years we had together, we had begun ending conversations by saying that we loved each other. It was always just a little awkward, as expressing heartfelt feelings usually is between guys. But as always, even that was a lesson to me. I don’t end any day without telling both of my daughters that I love them.

This past Friday night, comedian Jon Stewart performed here in Connecticut and thanks to a last minute twist of fate, I was able to attend the performance. (Thanks Rachel for the invite!) Stewart was as funny as you’d expect him to be and he ended his performance by telling the crowd that it was a tough show to do as he had learned, as we all had, of the loss that afternoon of his friend Tim Russert.

Stewart then told the story of how Russert had been back stage just before appearing on Colbert’s “The Daily Show” and was asking about Colbert’s recently born son, Nathan. Colbert says that Russert told him to make sure to go home that night and to kiss his son on the head–and to do so as often as he could. And to make sure when he did, that he took a second to just smell his child–because that was “the smell of life.”

Any father could tell you that is truly one of the best things you get out of being a Dad. And no matter how old your children are, you always want to kiss them on the head and just smell them for a moment.

So on behalf of Fathers everywhere, I’ll remind you kids–don’t forget to give us that whenever you can. It’s the best gift we will get on Father’s Day–or any other day of the year.