Describe the feeling to me in words if you can. You said it was warm and fuzzy, and you saw her as a person for the first time. What else do you feel along with that? With me, I didn't even know half the time what feeling I was feeling, so I found trying to describe it in words can work often, as you then look at the attributes of the feeling you're having. That's how I worked out I felt "love".

In a man's life, any other male whom you respect in some way can become a "substitute dad". I'm going to assume, yes, your dad was loving, but was he away from home almost the whole day, working hard, or even away for periods of time, leaving you, your siblings and your mom at home? In other words, was he a very busy, hard-working man? Sometimes this separation seems insignificant, but can play a major role in a young boy's life. It is not often spoken about, and society doesn't view it as that important, but I think the role of a father is crucial in a child's development, especially in a boy's development. Even a father who is present, but is distant emotionally will have a massive impact (my case - my dad was rather distant when I was a boy). Yet, the father's role is not often seen as so important, he is the breadwinner, etc. Sometimes they even leave the children behind and go off to start a new life somewhere else after a divorce for example, and only give money to the ex-wife. An important role of a father is being a "teacher". When that is not fulfilled, the young male child begins "learning" from another source (another male "role model" he looks up to) or is forced to find out things by experience or from other older boys, men, etc. This can have massive consequences. I think all these things is definitely something for you to think about. It sounds like you and your dad might not have been so close as you might think. I don't know, just a thought.