My Dad

When Father's Day rolls around....I look back to the days when I was growing up with this great man for a Dad. He was always there for me, be it times of problems, and times of joy in my life. He worked at night and always took a few hours off to come to a special event that I was participating in. He would see a crying child in a restaurant and feel sorry for the young parents....we would walk over and say, "Could I carry him so that you can eat?" He carried all my babies on his shoulder and had that special rock to his body that could lull them to sleep. He worked long hours to provide for us. He delighted in keeping my Mom happy with a new dress or a little cash for her to spend. He took care of her for 10 years, when she was stricken with Alzheimer's Disease. When he went on social security, he went to Church and told the minister that he could no longer tithe. (this troubled him so) He was the first one I saw, when I opened my eyes after having my kidney removed. He held my hand and told me the news about the surgery. He was the most honest person that I have ever known. I'm sitting here trying to think of a few faults, but none come to mind. He was truly a 'selfless' man. After my first husband died, I worried about telling him that I was remarrying. He started to cry and I was afraid that the tears were about my remarriage, but he said, "I'm so happy for you, I wouldn't want you to be as lonely as I've been these past years." We tried, so hard, to keep him happy....but Mom wasn't there and he was always missing her.

So, this 'Daddy's Girl' wakes up on Father's Day and remembers her sons and husband on their special day, goes to Church and tells the Priest ...Happy Father's Day, but in the back of my mind I'm remembering the past, when my Dad was alive. They broke the mold when he was born.

Balisha