A Father’s Gratitude and Love

This Father’s Day was another day to experience the joy of being a dad to my 17 year old son, Curtis.  He is amazing and my love for him goes “all the way to the moon and back”.  (I read him that book – “Guess How Much I Love You” when he was a very young boy and would always emphasize that line at the end).

I couldn’t have asked for a better father’s day.  I got to drum with good friends in the morning and spend the afternoon with Curtis.  One week earlier I received a gift from Charlotte and him when they gave me my new gas grill (which I love and have been cooking on frequently – from meat to all kinds of veggies, but that’s blogging fodder for another day).  Today though was that ever-precious “time spent with gift” that just seems to keep on giving.  He and I went to see the new Xmen movie and then ate our favorite burgers at Chili’s.  So simple and yet priceless to be present in every moment for all of that.  I feel blessed beyond measure.  For me it’s not about what’s given, but about what is shared.

I also think about my father this day.  I will call him tonight and reach out to him.  I will offer him the “time spent with gift” because that is what I can share with him.  Not that I have the same kind of  relationship with him that my son has with me, but it is still a time to give and receive love and share my joy and gratitude with him and make lots of space for him to share with me.  It will be great to connect again.

I also wonder what he did for his father on Fathers Day, before his father died while he was still very young.  And what kind of father’s day did his dad have with his grandfather?  I can sit here right now and feel the lineage on my dad’s side of the family and wonder, just wonder what kind of connection they had with each other.

I honor all the fathers that have gone before me and the ones that will come after.  I bless all their struggles and successes in their relationships.  It is what makes us stronger.  And I hope that lessons have been learned and chains broken over the generations so that future fathers may more easily realize the power of freely expressing our love to our sons and daughters – letting go of that “strong and silent” shield and letting them see us as we really are.  May my son know this with his children.

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To all my fathers, great and grand, know that my love and gratitude runs deep for all of you.  You have helped shape me into the man I am, with your DNA and your spirit.  Your hard-earned sweat gave me a trade that has long supported me.  Your models of manhood opened doors and helped me discover my way.

To my son Curtis – I am enjoying every day as a father’s day.  Every one a gift just because you are who you are and we have this time together.   And I will always, ALWAYS love you -  “all the way to the moon and back”.

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