Jun 15 2008
Father’s Day
My hope today is:
- if your father is alive you are able to connect in some way
- if your father has passed you pull happy memories from your heart and smile
Dad, Bill, and I on the ferry that ran between St. Petersburg and Bahia Beach, Florida, circa 1954. Shirtless, great to be a kid back then! And that was my version of a “blankie” - a dish towel. Shame kids back then didn’t get to wear dark glasses, see how hard Bill is squinting? Or is it that he knows what those Seagulls overhead could do?
My father died years ago - Alzheimers. I was probably never a daddy’s girl, by the stereotyped definition. Dad was quite reserved, very old school, not demonstrative, really, he was already just shy of 40 when I was born. And, he was not one to get outside and “play.”
But, in spite of that, I have many good memories. Dad and Mom taught my brother and I to play golf, we went to Family Nights at the pool in summer, he took us to the beach occasionally, though the key word is occasionally. Doing well in school the first eleven years came naturally for me, and he responded to that. And, Dad went out of his way on several occasions to “rescue” his wimpy daughter, to make sure I was safe, to allow me to feel secure where other young adults would have been told, “Deal with it.” Yes, times were he should have said the latter, for sure, but Dad gave me plenty of good memories by being who he was.
My Dad was one person that stayed true to himself, it took me a long time to get just how significant that was, but it unconsciously laid the groundwork for me to accept me for me. Thanks, Dad.
