Ode To Father's Day

I have decided since it is good day to reflect on the fathers I know in the approximate order I met them.

Herb, my dad: He had the biggest heart and knew no stranger. He helped friends, just because. He had a hysterical sense of humor and lived his life touching those around him. I never doubted his love. He worked and played hard. He made everyone feel important.

Earl, my father in law: He was a renaissance man. Quiet. Gifted. He was self taught in the arts. He could make jam, weave and dye wool and crochet. He is one of the strongest men I have known. He would easily cut and stack several cords of wood for the winter and when he was bed ridden with cancer he taught himself to crochet and made us blankets.

Pat, my brother in law: The world special comes to mind. There are few men like him, who can put the needs of his sons and grandson ahead of himself. He can discuss philosophy and Thomas the train all in one sentence. He believes we are inherently good and thus never sees our shortcomings. He is the anchor in a storm.

Greg, my husband: He is a rock. I am thankful every day for the wonderful sons I have. For sons are as good/strong as their fathers help them grow. I have never had a moments worry about who my sons are as people because of their father. He is quiet/shy and yet gave his sons the strength of extrovertism. He is so proud of his boys.

Mike, my nephew: He brings a bit of his father to his son. He is a hard worker with a priority of supporting his family. He is kind, inquisitive and loving and you can see the results of that in his son.

Peter, my son: It is difficult to write about my son without tears...because in his strength I see my own father and my husband. What I have learned from my father is that, a father does not have to be biological, for my father was a father to many others besides myself. I see in Peter the ability to love. Parenting is humbling and we stumble but with strength, humor and the ability to learn what it means to be a parent...those are the things that I see have been passed down.

I read an article about fathers and I love the authors ending paragraph. "When you have been lucky in the father department, it would be an outrage not to cry in their memory. You can't have an up without a down, a right without a left, a back without a front - or a happy with a sad. This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments - and you get the tears at the end, too. As the old proverb says, "When a father gives to his son, they both laugh. When a son gives to his father they both cry."

Happy Father's Day!