Now that I am married and my husband and I have children, I am put in an interesting position of having multiple fathers in my life. While my husband is a very AMAZING dad I think I will reserve my space here for my literal Dad.
When you ask someone to describe their Dad you hear things like
"he was the worst, he always...." or
"he was the best he always..."
I don't want to travel to either of those places today.
Instead, I want to say, I had a loving human Father who was neither best nor worst but, gave me the gift of his time.
My Dad seemed to always have time for me growing up.
One of my favorite memories with him was watching cars go by on the front porch.
For some reason this was a treat; it meant sitting out in the warm evening sun, watching people pass by the house. Nothing fancy but, it meant "time" with Dad. I think that was what it truly was about, more than the cars. During those moments, I had his attention, I was his loved little girl. I heard stories, asked questions, and had the almighty Fatherly wisdom imparted.
My Dad enjoyed building things, or perhaps he built them for us because he enjoyed watching us play in them.
I can't say he truly felt a thrill in building them.
Mudpits, swings, tree forts there was always some sort of fun going on. We were included in this. Again, the word "time" comes to mind. He invested his time.
As I grew older, life changed in the way life does. When Dad got home at 3:30 ish, it meant a pot of coffee and at least an hour of chatting with him. At some point different musicians such as Simon And Garfunkel were introduced. The theological questions were posed during this. I was informed of course, that I must read "The Stranger"
I don't think he even knew how much those moments he invested formed my system of beliefs.
Fathers play such a crucial role in the lives of daughters. Essentially this is the foundation of how you will relate to men in your life.
So my thought for Dad today is... Don't be the worst, and don't be the best but, just BE there.
Give of your time because that is the important thing.
 |
| Dad and me in 2003 |
When you ask someone to describe their Dad you hear things like
"he was the worst, he always...." or
"he was the best he always..."
I don't want to travel to either of those places today.
Instead, I want to say, I had a loving human Father who was neither best nor worst but, gave me the gift of his time.
My Dad seemed to always have time for me growing up.
One of my favorite memories with him was watching cars go by on the front porch.
For some reason this was a treat; it meant sitting out in the warm evening sun, watching people pass by the house. Nothing fancy but, it meant "time" with Dad. I think that was what it truly was about, more than the cars. During those moments, I had his attention, I was his loved little girl. I heard stories, asked questions, and had the almighty Fatherly wisdom imparted.
My Dad enjoyed building things, or perhaps he built them for us because he enjoyed watching us play in them.
I can't say he truly felt a thrill in building them.
Mudpits, swings, tree forts there was always some sort of fun going on. We were included in this. Again, the word "time" comes to mind. He invested his time.
As I grew older, life changed in the way life does. When Dad got home at 3:30 ish, it meant a pot of coffee and at least an hour of chatting with him. At some point different musicians such as Simon And Garfunkel were introduced. The theological questions were posed during this. I was informed of course, that I must read "The Stranger"
I don't think he even knew how much those moments he invested formed my system of beliefs.
Fathers play such a crucial role in the lives of daughters. Essentially this is the foundation of how you will relate to men in your life.
So my thought for Dad today is... Don't be the worst, and don't be the best but, just BE there.
Give of your time because that is the important thing.
 |
| Dad 2009 |
1 comment:
Very sweet mel, love the pictures. And so so true about the time! What an important aspect to remember.. it's so easy to get caught up in life and forget to just stop and spend some quality time with those that we love.
Post a Comment