Happy Father's Day

One of my sisters is celebrating her wedding anniversary today.  She sent a FB message to her adult children letting them know that anniversaries trump Father's Day so they will need to delay celebrating.  Sharing can be challenging.  My wife and I no longer have our dads in our lives.  Even though they both departed a long while ago, it's days like today when I feel something is missing.  I think back to one Father's Day in particular in my youth when I scoured the backyard for cigarette butts so I could paste them onto a homemade card for my dad.  It wasn't easy for my dad to fight back those tears welling up inside his light blue eyes when he opened the card with the message, I love you, dad and want you to be around.  Please stop smoking.  The message got to him and he quit for a few days.  Unfortunately, the nicotine addiction was too strong and his life was cut short at the age of 67 when he lost his lung cancer battle.  I would give anything to share this special day with him but instead I will focus on the lessons he taught me.

Our youngest son fired up the Weber bbq grill last night and treated our family to some of the finest burgers I've ever eaten.  He wanted to make up for all the special celebrations he missed while overseas serving his country.  I thought about my dad while biting into my lettuce-wrapped burger, a deviation from dad's "world famous" burgers. Before dad departed he went out of his way to make sure I had a weber grill.  If dad were still around he would be selling ice to eskimos along with a weber grill.  I picture him at the head of the table talking about what's going on the world.  At some point he would quip, "hey son, that Father's Day message you gave me years ago about quitting smoking was well written but I want you to know I found a short cut to Heaven."

Those who know me well understand I'm not a believer in short cuts.  I do believe our days are numbered and we need to do our best to make our contributions before we depart.  I'm thankful to be a dad.  It's the best job in the world.  I'm going to savor this day and let my children know how much I love them.  Happy Father's Day to all the dads.  Have a great day.