Son receives touching 30th birthday card from father who died in 1999

'Love ya - Dad'

(ChrisBenRoy)

A son has revealed how he only just received a birthday card from his dad who died from cancer over a decade ago, with the father having the foresight to mark his children's milestone birthdays before passing away.

It was inscribed with a simple 'Love ya - Dad', and was written such a long time ago that even the corny joke on the inside feels quite charmingly dated.

Explaining the backstory, ChrisBenRoy said: "My father passed away from Liver/Lung cancer in 1999 after battling it for a year and a half. After so much chemo and medication, he just couldn't take that quality of life anymore and realized it was his time to go. I assume at that point he bought cards for my brother and I's milestone birthdays. It caught me totally off guard and made me so very happy. It felt like he was still there, holding something I'd never seen before that he touched, and signed himself, it was if he had just done it yesterday."

The man, who received the card from his mother who had saved it all these years, says the card is his "new favorite thing" and moved him to tears.

"I've lived longer w/out him than I did with him," he explained. "So to have these little moments where he kind of pops back into my life again brings everything back in a rush and it's incredible. I cried, but I did because I was so incredibly happy."

There was an outpouring of support for the man, with another Reddit user saying he now planned to do something similar for his own children before his death.

"I think it's funny that he knew this was going to be a huge thing for you when you were 30 and he still only wrote "Love ya --Dad". Classic father thing to do," another said.

"I venture to guess he was probably very sick at the time he wrote it," ChrisBenRoy responded. "It kind of makes me wonder what he may have planned for if I get married, have kids, or when I turn 40?"