Real heartache 12 years after dad passed.

Today marked 12 years since my dad passed from lung cancer that eventually spread to his bones and brain. I was 11 at the time, now 23. 
I was napping with my husband earlier and woke up from a dead sleep with pain in my heart. Not like full on chest pain. Like literally pain from where my heart is. A circle in my chest was hurting. It's like I felt my heart pumping with that pain. It made me breathe abnormally heavy for a few minutes. 
It was bizarre and quite frankly scared me for a minute but, then I realized what day it was again. That he had been on my mind all day. He was my best friend. Then I felt safe. Maybe it was a sign from him of some sort. An odd one but, maybe it was? 
Feel free to share your stories about loved ones who have passed.