Father's Day, Am one, Have one, Lost one.

Some random thoughts about what it means to be and have a dad.

Am one
First, being a dad myself, I thought of my own children and the miraculous means by which they came to be mine. At 42 I met Amber, thanks to my Cupid brother-in-law (born on Valentine's day), and immediately recognized that, what other men might think of as baggage, I thought of as blessings. I can still remember little Hannah and Blaine playing in the driveway as I drove up to their house on Clearcreek the first time. Posing as small children playing they were actually miniature spies on the look-out for some man coming to their house for dinner. They were so small and cute and innocent, not knowing what they were getting into with this funny looking man courting their mother. The vision of them makes me tingle and when I look back I almost giggle thinking about them with their sometimes shy, sometimes brash behavior. As for Taylor, I had met him a few days earlier when he came with his mom for a Coke at Johnnies. He had a special role in his immediate family of "little man" and as such was charged with accompanying mom to scope out her suitor. He did then and has always since related well to adults. His mom told me he related better to his grade school teachers than he did to his fellow students. Today after over 9 years of knowing them I am comfortably, proudly their dad. Knowing well that God's purpose for us as parents is that we truly only learn to be selfless though having and caring for children... we also learn patience, laundry, cooking, laundry, delivery and pickup, and oh yeah, did I mention laundry? Unlike being an engineer, or whatever I am at work, being a dad matters infinitely more and therefore deserves infinitely more of my attention. I’m not there yet, some day soon, maybe. But however I am doing, I believe that it is with God’s help that I do it. I truly believe that when I prayed to God for a soul mate, he told me that I could not have one without patience. So he also gave me a way to get that... Taylor, Hannah, and Blaine!

Have one
One of my favorite books of the Bible is Job. And one of my favorite passages in that book is (paraphrasing) " Behold my servant Job, for he is a perfect man". People talk about someone having "the patience of Job", I would also add, "or Jerry". And many of you who know him would also perhaps put him well up on the list of men who might be considered perfect dads. Now I'm sure there are some sisters and brothers out there who might argue that he has not always been this close to perfect, and I know his wife might take issue with this as it pertains to some of the self incriminating stuff that sometimes slips out, but as dads go, Amber and I would say he' pretty close to perfect. My father-in-law is the personification of patience and is pictured in Wikopedia under the phrase: "mellows with age". Maybe it’s the 20 year old single malt scotch he drinks, or maybe it's the wine. Whatever it is, he's mastered it well, and all of us are the benefactors. Happy father's day Dad. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!

Lost one
Some of you reading this have lost their Dad. Some of you are grandparents, or even great-grandparents, and thus it is a natural occurrence. Some of you are young and some are just not so old, but our time with them is finished. My allotted time ended when I was just 35. As a result, none of you ever met my dad, Gary, but knowing me, and having met my Mom, you have part of the picture. Amber says that if he were alive today, she'd hug him, and then she’d also probably punch him. The hug would be for the stuff he instilled in me that has made me a good husband and father. My Dad taught me so many things, not on purpose, but just by being who he was and making sure I knew what he stood for. Among those were: be frugal, the store brand is just as good; do the job right, don't quit until it’s done; work comes before play, pay your bills first; you can't eat atmosphere; family comes first; don't worry about what others who do not know you think of you; take care of your family, be dependable, stay... no matter how bad it gets, stay. (Do you see a pattern here?) --Thus the reason for Amber's need to punch him. There’s not very much in the compassion department, at least outwardly. Flawed as he was, he was always my Dad and good or bad, much of who I am comes from the example he set for me. As a dad myself, that kind of scares me. So, if you're watching, Dad, happy father's day.

Books, Whales, Family

First, Joe is going home wednesday. Since his move to Jim Thorpe Rehab last friday, he has had speech, physical and occupational therapy. His improvement has been dramatic. How much of his abilities he will regain is unknown, but we are all hopeful. He is eating, walking with assistance and talking with some cognitive impairment which is showing improvement each day. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, keep it up.

Hello to all from the Taylor House for Abandoned Parents, Grandparents and Siblings.

It's so lonely. Nobody but each other to talk to, talk about or just take life easy with. If Spring is not here it is just around the corner. Probably not more than 2 snow and 1 ice storm before we hit tornado season. All the storm chasers will be happy, the kids bicycle helmets get put in the inside closet for when the sky darkens and the air gets a green tinge to it and the storms dance around the house.

Life is good.

Yesterday Jane, Jean and I took a trip to Okarche to the Tower Cafe for lunch and one of the better Cinnamon Rolls anywhere.

Meeting Amber and Family for dinner tonight.

Life is good.

Friday Amber, Marc and families head to Greenleaf for spring break. Jane and I are going to see "Tuna Does Vegas" friday night and then to Greenleaf on saturday. Jean and Brittany will be there wednesday and Jeffery on thursday. Life is good.

Took the truck for some work and discovered the brakes needed worked on. I thought they had been rather spongy. Last fall I took the trailer in to have some work done and the brakes needed fixed. So this morning, for the first time in a long time, when I pulled the trailer I had brakes on the truck and the trailer. Jane only hit the windshield twice before I figured out how everything worked better with brakes all around.

Life is good.

Jan, when you get ready to make reservations for the whale watching call me for a CC number. Jane and I will be in the truck without the trailer. Maybe with cats. If any friends, relatives or countrymen know anything about traveling with cats, let me know. When a worthless, no good, lazy cat needs 2 insulin shots a day, it can slow you down, but.

Life is good.

Books

Mar -- Oliver Kitteridge

I think I reviewed this one earlier, but I'll go again. I liked the book, but thought it was rather depressing.
Apr -- The Blood of Flowers

I love history. So I will call this history. I enjoyed most of it just as a story. Enough history of 17th century Iran to keep me interested. Now I want to read Iranian history. She is not a literary genius (but would I know one if I saw one).
May -- Herzog

Jan, I owe you for this. When I saw Saul Bellows I thought no way. But then I remembered you told me he was critically acclaimed. So against my better judgement I started it. One hundred pages in we are having dinner with Amber and family and I said, I'm not wasting my time on this. It's going back to the library. But, how can you start a book and not finish. I read the last of it and was more confused. How did he get there. TWO hundred pages in I thought I'm going to kill her, this is junk. THREE HUNDRED pages in, I thought, he's writing this about us, you and me. That was a sobering thought. Either it is a good book, or our life is junk. Ponder that.

Life is good.

Jane and I are doing great. The kids are okay. The grandkids are outstanding.

Lov Ya All

LIFE IS GOOD.