Your dad’s beat-up lunch cooler has carried more sacrifice than any trophy in the house.

Trophies record good days and a lunch box records every other one. The same bag went out at five in the morning for years, in the cold, through weeks he did not want to go, and it is scuffed because it was used rather than displayed. It is the physical record of showing up anyway, which is the harder thing.

Look at the ordinary objects in your house as evidence of what they have been through. Then say something to him about the years rather than the job. If something of his is worn out from use, ask about it, since the story is usually attached to the damage.