I wish my father were alive so I could tell him Happy Father's Day. I wish I could tell him that I love him. I wish I could thank him for all of the little and big things he did for me.
My father loved to work in the yard. I can still see him in his 80’s playing in the dirt. His hands were crippled with arthritis and I said, “Don’t your hands hurt?” His reply was, “I don’t think about them and then they don’t hurt.” That’s the kind of man he was.
Education was more important to my father than making money. I think one of his proudest days was when I earned my Ph.D. (And I used the word EARNED because it wasn’t easy to have a full time job and two children and go to grad school. I can empathize with many of you.)
Every time I cooked for my father it was the BEST food he ever tasted. Every present I gave him was what he had always wanted. Every sunrise was the most beautiful…every song was the prettiest…every experience was joyful…every day he was grateful.
My father taught me that it’s a wonderful world and we have to work hard to make it a better place. Do a little more than what is expected of you. Go out of your way to be kind and make someone else happy.
I remember complaining about one of my first jobs and my father said, “Get over it. There is no such thing as a perfect job. You just need to do the best you can and work hard.”
My dad was “liberated” before it became politically correct. He was friends with rich and poor, people of all ethnic backgrounds, and he thought my sister and I could be a doctor or lawyer or anything we wanted to be. He thought if you worked hard nothing was impossible.
My father was not perfect, but that’s the great thing about “selective nostalgia.” Always try to remember the good things and not the negative.
My dad walking me down the aisle at my wedding.
If your father is still living, never miss the opportunity to tell him that you love him! Never miss the opportunity to show him that you love him!