Looking up and back I have so many incredible memories with this gracious man. I still feel the butterflies of excitement I had waiting for him to pick me up every other Friday afternoon. Dad’s weekend was an adventure that started with a stop at the grocery store, my mouth waters as I think of the fluffy pancakes covered in powdered sugar and steak hot off the grill with broccoli and his hollandaise sauce.
The time followed with golfing, hunting, fishing, playing king of the mountain on dirt piles or tasting sediment samples on oil rigs. As a kid, I was elated with not having to brush my hair, match my outfits and the freedom of riding in the back of a truck or convertible with wind softening the Texas sun. As an adult, I am more amazed by his resiliency and efforts to replace pain with joy.
Divorce is not an easy task to navigate nor is single parenting, I so often hear his words of wisdom and appreciate his humor when delivering a simple, often overlooked message in humility. My father has quietly taught me a lesson Icould never replace, the concept of to those much has been given, much is expected. He lives a life of goodness alongside hard work and success. His gentle nature and grace were modeled by my grandfather and have passed along to my brother. I am honored to have grown up with these tender hearted men.
My father models courage, not from force but faith. I look to him and pray for my son to be a man of pure heart. One that sees their worth and acknowledges the importance of using talents and seeking wisdom to pay this lesson forward which inevitably lives beyond a lifetime. On this Father’s Day Daddy, I admire you and am so grateful for all you have taught me and modeled for my son and shown me to look for in a man.