Fathers Day 2018 



Dad, it’s Father’s Day again without you.  You left us 36 years ago.  I think about you often and the lessons you taught me.  About those talks we had when I was growing up and the wisdom you shared with me.  I remember so much of it now and wish for so much more; wish that I had listened more, asked more questions, and, heard, really heard more.  Even without that, I learned and gained so much from your lessons.  It was your gracious, courageous love that allowed me to see God for the gracious courageous Father that He is. 

I always credited mom with being the barrier breaker in the family.  I now realize that in large part, you were the barrier breaker.  It was you that gave me a baseball mitt for my 5th birthday.  A gift that girls didn’t get in the 50’s.  It was you that taught me how to play baseball.  You were a “south paw” golden glove street boxer growing up and you used that to teach me how to defend myself, to fight back when someone wanted to take advantage of me.  It was you that taught me to defend others, to stand up for the weaker in life, those that couldn’t stand up for themselves.  It was you that taught me to use tools, to work hard and get dirty, to not be afraid of broken things because they could be fixed if we took the time to do that.  It was you that taught me that sometimes you must risk it all for the sake of integrity and honor.  And, I’ll never forget when you told me, “Sometimes, a good man hangs on, even when he doesn’t know what he is hanging on to, or, why, he just hangs on.”  You taught me courage that I didn’t know I had.  You taught me war, and most important, peace and forgiveness.  That true strength was being strong enough to be kind and honest with ourselves and others.  That the strength of quiet confidence was a gift not everyone has.  On this 36th Father’s Day without you Dad, just know that your legacy lives on.  That your family carries it with us, each one of us a piece of you that is a gift to the world, leaving it a better place than we found it.  I can’t wait to see you in Heaven Dad.