To my Dad:

[Cooperhawk]

A while back I read a note from a female who I used to work with lamenting how she missed her Father who had passed away. This was my answer:

My Dad has been gone over 35 years now. He passed of an Embolism very suddenly and I was many many miles away at the time. I did talk to him the night prior to his death, so in a way I did get to say good bye.

I might miss his physical presence, but:

I think of him every day.
I can still picture him in my mind.
I try to think how he would handle different situations that I am faced with.
I try to treat others the way he would.
I try to teach my family the way he did.
I try to be a man of honor like he was.

In other words:

He is with me everyday.
He is in my heart.
He is in my mind.
He is in my soul.
He speaks to me all the time, but not in a voice, in memories and lessons taught.
He influences everything I think and say and do.

I don't miss him because I am him.

 

[contender]

Damn blurry screen.


I loved my mother,,, and many always say a boy is closer to his mother than his father. Yet, I've always felt the opposite.
Daily it seems I share my dad's wisdom with others.
With your permission, I want to copy this & share it please.

 

[Cooperhawk]

Anyone that wants to use it go ahead.

 

[Cooperhawk]

I loved my mother,,, and many always say a boy is closer to his mother than his father. Yet, I've always felt the opposite.
Daily it seems I share my dad's wisdom with others.

Many men do not understand their relationship with their parents. Here is a theory called "Modeling".

A little boy has a love affair with his Mother. Not a sexual one, an emotional one. How does he win his Mother's love? Mom loves Dad. If I am like Dad, Mom will love me. He becomes like his Father and the measure is his Mother's acceptance and love.

Now he may not like his Dad. Maybe Dad is strict. But if that's what Mom loves, so be it. He becomes his Father.

The same works with Daughters and Fathers. If Dad loves Mom, they model their mothers.

In a dysfunctional family it all becomes confused. If Mom hates Dad, who does a little boy model? Well, does Mom love any male? Model that one. If Mom hates all men, then what?

 

[ChiefMuzz]

Came pretty darn close to losing my dad this year.
He ended up getting his liver transplant in early October. His liver doctor told the surgeon, "You either do the surgery now or we'll take him off the transplant list." They expected him to last less than a month at that point without a new liver. The surgeon didn't want to do the surgery because of how sick my dad was. When he went to visit with him to tell him he wouldn't do the surgery, he asked my dad if he could walk. At that point my dad wasn't able to get himself out of bed, let alone stand and walk. My dad just looked up at him and as serious as he could be said "sure, how far do you want me to go". The doctor later told us at that point he changed his mind and decided to do the surgery. He had a new liver within 48 hours.
It was a long road back for him, but now 8 months later he's great. Got a clean bill of health from his liver doctor and surgeon just last week. After dinner tonight I'm going to pick him up and take my daughter and son and him fishing. It wil be my 2 1/2 year old son's first fishing trip. I know this was all Gods doing and could honestly go in for days about the wonderful miracles and experiences we had as a family over his 3 year sickness. I'm just thankful my kids get to spend more time getting to know PapPap.
God bless all you fathers.

 

[GunnyGene]

An old pic of my father right after he joined the Navy in 1937 on his first ship (USS Astoria). He's the bearded sailor on the right. He loved the sea, and felt he was born a century too late. He longed for the days of iron men and wooden ships. He saw action throughout WWII and Korea in the Atlantic and Pacific, and retired in 1961 as a CWO4. He was a Shellback several times over, and sailed to both poles during the mid '50s on the USS Burton Island icebreaker. He passed away in the '90's and was buried at sea as he wanted.

I have his officers sword hanging on my den wall, and I have his voice on a couple CD's that my brother recorded just prior to his death.

 

[welder]

Thanks for the OP. I miss my dad everyday and everyday I find myself doing something just like he did.
Just this morning I noticed as I went out to see my brother who was mowing next door, that I had on socks pulled up to my knees, slippers, t-shirt and a coffee cup in hand. I immediately remembered my dad doing this and thought it was so uncool. Bad thing is I did it with zero thought and it felt right.

 

[wolfsong]

I don't have it in me to put into words the tribute I should give my dad. So, if you all don't mind, I'll enjoy your words to your dads and be content. Thank you ALL for sharing.

There's a little bit of each of our fathers in, well, each of our fathers. Makes us all brothers, right?

Peace and God bless, Wolfsong.

 

[sfhogman]

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated my father's 100th birthday. He's been gone 10 years now and there's not a day that I don't think of him.

Yesterday I was shaving - I use soap, a mug and traditional razor as he did - and when I looked in the mirror I saw his eyes looking back at me. Happens every now and again...

Jeff

 

[wolfsong]

Yesterday my wife and I celebrated my father's 100th birthday. He's been gone 10 years now and there's not a day that I don't think of him.

Yesterday I was shaving - I use soap, a mug and traditional razor as he did - and when I looked in the mirror I saw his eyes looking back at me. Happens every now and again...

Jeff

I'd bet it happens with more frequency than every now and again...

Peace and God bless, Wolfsong.

 

[Colonialgirl]

One of the Nicest compliments I ever got was from my uncle Floyd; I was visiting him at the time of his 100th Birthday and we had been talking; He looked up at me and said, "You remind a great deal of my brother Bud (he had called my Dad that all of their lives, my Dad's name was Menzen), your Dad; I loved him all his life".
My Dad was the youngest sibling.
Needless to say, the room got a bit blurry for me at that point, my Dad had been gone almost 15 years.