Happy Father's Day!

It's Father's Day!!  For me, that means that Christina feeds me a ton of my favorite foods, I get to watch whatever I want, and Connor says, "I love you Dad!"  It's a pretty good day, overall.  Granted, I'm going to pay for eating all this tomorrow, but I'm toootally ok with that.  There's a chocolate trifle on the way that would choke a rhino, but since I'm a highly skilled chocolate eater, I'm pretty sure I can handle it.


Lately, I've been missing my own father quite a bit.  He always set a great example.  Even now, I still do my best to live life in a way that I hope would make him proud.  The man didn't have an ounce of quit in him, and showed me the meaning of true strength every day.  He was a go-kart racer, bowler, pool player, mechanic, water skier, gardener, softball and tennis player, ultralight pilot, handyman, and a Marine.  He said what he thought, and was far funnier than he ever knew.  He faced many troubles in his lifetime, and he just waded through them all with quiet tenacity.  Losing a hand only slowed him down for a while, and then he went right about his business, doing everything he had always done as though it was the most normal thing in the world to do it all with one hand.

There are lots of things going on right now that I'd love to discuss with him, but alas, the conversations are pretty one-sided.  I do still feel his presence, though.  His voice comes unbidden to my mind often, as does his laugh, and the lessons that he taught me over the years.

I often wonder how my son will remember me in years to come.  I'm firm with him, but we also love to wrestle and laugh together.  We talk far more openly than my Dad and I ever did, and I'm extremely glad of that.  Some of our discussions are absolutely hilarious, though I often can't let him know just how much I'm desperately trying to be serious.  My father showed his love through all of the things he did every day, though he never voiced it.  I've chosen to be far more vocal with Connor, telling him every single day that I love him and that I'm proud of him, even when he's in deep trouble.  I support him doing things that are totally different from my own interests in the hopes that he finds and follows his own passions.  He's only twelve years old, but he's as tall as me.  More and more often, I catch glimpses of the man he will become, and it makes my heart swell with pride and love.  I look forward to seeing him grow up, even as I lament the child that is slowly being left behind. 

One day, maybe he'll be blogging about me.  Hopefully, I can give him some good material.  Whether you're a father or not, I send you wishes for a happy day today!