Thank you, Dad
Lynne Bell
In the spirit of Father's Day, my lovely editor and I both agreed to suspend our usual debate and instead, use this space to honour our dads.
My darling dad has been experiencing some health issues that unfortunately, sometimes seem to change the very essence of who he is. Yesterday, as I paid him a visit, Father's Day card in hand (which is all he has ever wanted, “Just a card, Honey, just a card...”). I didn't know what to expect, which is now the new normal for him and for us, his family.
As it turns out, this Father's Day, I was given the gift of a wonderful, three-hour visit full of laughs and great memories, but had it not turned out be that kind of visit, I realized that the love he gave me and the lessons he taught me still endure, no matter what. So in honour of my wonderful Dad, here is my little tribute to him:
Thanks for insisting that we be kind, Dad. I'm still working on this one, but the importance of taking the time to cultivate kindness makes for a happier life for everyone. You always said, “You never know what (burden) someone is carrying inside them,” and you were right. Your words were few, but when you spoke, they were worth listening to. Thank you.
Thanks for urging us to appreciate it all, even-or especially-the little stuff. Even though you treated me to some pretty epic experiences-a limo ride along the lights of Las Vegas and Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash concerts among them-the trips to the mall in Calgary with my babies in tow or just sitting around and laughing and talking wherever we were, are equally etched in my heart and memory. You showed me that it's possible to have a great life wherever you land and always, always, people come first. Thank you.
Like anyone, you made mistakes, but you learned from them and we learned from you. You showed us by example what the good life really is and you said of any mistakes you had made, the biggest one was missing time with the people you loved the most. That's a big one, Dad. Thank you.
Even though I was utterly repelled by your taste in tunes as a know-it-all teen, thank you for giving me an enduring love of music and the poetry and life lessons that can be found in the seemingly simple lyrics of country music. Thanks for that too, Dad.
And if by chance, some our future visits are quieter than the one we had this Father's Day, maybe we can hang out and listen to some Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. You're still here, I'm still here, and our songs are still here. So is the love and so are the lessons.
Thank you, Dad.
Thank you Dad for everything
By Kelly Running
This week Lynne and I decided to call another truce and decided we’d put off being argumentative in favour of celebrating Father’s Day last weekend.
Growing up on the farm, I remember how hard working my parents were. Dad would head out in the tractor or combine and be gone from early in the a.m. until late in the p.m. This didn’t matter one bit, however, because my sister and I got to go with him in the field.
When we were young we’d sit and play with our toys or visit with Dad. If we got tired we’d get to have a cat nap curled up on his jacket on the floor as we took turns out in the tractor/combine with him. As we got older we still sat on the buddy seat visiting with dad.
Dad always took the time to eat supper with us too. It was definite family time as he either came into the house to eat or we’d take supper out to the field with us and he’d take a quick break; I’ve discovered this isn’t the norm of farming though and not everyone will stop to enjoy this time. I’m thankful he did.
The other week when I went home for a few days, I made sure I’d have one to hang out with him particularly before my sister’s wedding. He bought a kayak this year and since I got one last year it was the perfect chance to tour “speedy creek.”
We packed some snacks and headed south to go jump on the creek. He made fun of me as he speedily passed me, laughing that I’d be looking at the back of his head the whole time. Which on the straightaways was the case, but in the tiny rapids he kept getting stuck on rocks while I manoeuvred my little kayak through waiting for him a little further down.
It took us two and a half hours to meander down the creek. We stopped for photos, got stuck in shallow spots having to scoot our way through, and enjoyed the beautiful day touring the creek. I couldn’t believe how many turtles we saw! There were so many of them. They slithered into the creek when they heard us get near and their little heads would pop up watching us, submarine, and pop up a little further down.
It was a ton of fun and spending time with my dad is something I love doing. He’s kind-hearted and a loving dad. I definitely take pride when people back home laugh about how much I work, telling me I’m just like him. He has an amazing work ethic and I hope mine is even half of what his is because I’ll be set for life with that.
Family comes first for dad though and I couldn’t be luckier to have him as my pa.
And it might have been Father’s Day, but notice I didn’t use the word father… that’s because: “Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that’s why I call you dad, because you are so special to me. You taught me the game and you taught me how to play it right.” ~ Wade Boggs. The game for me would be about life in general.
Now Father’s Day is about more than just dad’s though, it’s about grandfathers as well. I didn’t know my grandpa on my dad’s side, he passed away at a very young age, and my opa passed away when I was quite young. It makes me a little sad I don’t have any memories of Grandpa Jackson and that my memories of Opa are limited, but I know I love them both immensely even without meeting one and with limited memories of the other. They had to be good people because my parents turned out the way they did.
My oma found a second love and therefore I’m lucky to have a fantastic third grandfather. He’s a fairly quiet man, or maybe that’s because I’m pretty quiet and don’t talk much, but he is knowledgeable and kind-hearted like grandpa’s are. He’s been there for our family and he’s been there for my oma. Seeing them together is beautiful because you can see the love in their eyes when you look at them interacting with each other and I feel blessed to have him in my life.
