Father’s Day More Than A Celebration Of DNA

I lost my father 38 years ago to lung cancer and I miss him and his wisdom more and more.  Why is that?  I think we miss our fathers who have passed on because we realize they were right!

We’ve all heard the question posed to teenagers “if you know so much, why don’t you move out and prove it”.  How true.  As a teen like many others I felt I knew so much more than my Dad.  The old guy didn’t have a clue what was going on.  After all he was old and had lived his life.  Ha!

He did teach me how to throw a baseball, he did teach me how to fish, taught me how to shoot and so much more.  Thanks to him I know how to fix a leaky faucet, use a hand saw as well as an electric saw.  I learned how to change the oil in my first car before I bought it.  I learned to ride a horse like a pro before I learned to drive a car for sure.  I learned that to ride that horse and enjoy the thrill of being a ‘cowboy’ you have to endure the thrill of toting bales of hay into the barn and shoveling out the by-product.

Thanks to him I know that hard work is to be admired not avoided.  Thanks to my father I worked in the family business long enough to know I wanted to do something else with my life.  I got my first “real job” at 15 thanks to his prodding.  The night I got back from the Army Dad and I shared a beer or two and I told him how much I respected him for finding something he loved to do and did it well enough to support my Mom and I.  His response stuck with me.  He said, “Who said I like what I do?  I do it because I do it well and my efforts support the family.  Me liking to do it has nothing to do with it.”   Those words still mean so much to me today.  In life it’s not doing something you like that matters but doing whatever it takes and doing it well that matters.

Thanks to my father I know to respect others for who they are, not to judge them by the color of their skin, nationality or social standing.  Thanks to my father I learned to treat everyone as I want to be treated.  He taught me honesty and hard work are to be valued.

I miss my Dad so much after all these years because it has been all these years and I hope I am becoming as wise as he really was.

Dad, you were so wise and I miss you more than I thought possible after all these years.