To the Fathers in My Life

I've been thinking a lot about some of the fathers in my life. First of all my own father who raised me to be the person that I am. I was his first-born and he was young. Now that I have stepped in his footsteps, I see why he was the way he was. Becoming a parent is an awesome responsibility. But my father had to be both mother and father to me many times in my life and for that I will always be grateful. A special memory I shared with my father was going to early Communion every Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church. There was no singing or preaching just communion with God - the way Daddy liked it.

My brother and brother-in-laws are fine examples of fathers and have each given their own sons and son-in-laws a rich understanding of what it means to be a father - time, talent, laughter, experience, and love. Authentic to what it means to be a father each in their own unique way has remained faithful to their calling as parents therefore becoming a fine example for the next generation.

Nothing could prepare me to see my own sons become fathers themselves. Having pride in their ability to bring a child into the world and be prepared to raise that child still sends shivers down my spine. I am so happy they are experiencing this wonderful gift and so enjoy seeing it unfold on a daily basis. So too is the love I have for my son-in-law when I see him with my granddaughter. His love for my daughter and her brothers and their families affirms my thinking that my daughter made the right choice.

And too are the friends, the men in my life who take their role as father to heart. The single dad who looks at the world and sees God in everything; the grandfather that helped raise his grandson while his own son was a single dad; and the dad who by example not only walks IN the light of God but walks AS the light of God. How glad I am to have these men in my life.

Then there is the son who is not a father himself but the father-figure to his nieces and nephew. He holds their hands, comforts them when sick, picks them up with they cry, reads them books, and tells them stories and makes them laugh. But most of all loves them unconditionally with all his heart proving that the word FATHER is not just a word but a state of being.

Finally, there is my own husband and father of my children. I thank God every day for bringing him into my life. Little did I know when we fell in love forty years ago that my life would be what it has been. But one thing we knew then and stayed the course was that we wanted four children and God gave us three boys and a girl. And he has loved and adored each child just as I have. It has been a wonderful treat to see him the parent of a baby, child, teenager, and young adult but nothing compares to the man he has become - a grandfather - gentle, kind, proud, protective and loving. He is the father of my children and grandfather to our grandchildren and I love him.