a father's love

This is my Dad and his sisters plus some cousins at another cousin's funeral earlier this year. So much has changed in his life and ours since then. There was the big wreck where the driver's license went away and from that day forward all of our lives became one big list of things to do and places to be at the appointed time. Most days we manage without missing a beat.

I grew up on this farm where I can see the crops being harvested right outside my windows. Today was wheat cuttin' day so the air is, shall we say, thick with dust and heat. Plenty of heat. We southerners are accustomed to hunkering down in the middle of summer and bitchin' about the heat while we fan ourselves and drink cold fruity drinks, but normally it doesn't happen this early. Being the faithful sort, I'm theorizing that the seasons are getting back on track and September will actually be pleasant weatherwise. That would be a nice birthday present for the old Poopster.

I have actually skirted my duties as a daughter this year, leaving for the beach on Mother's Day and working on Father's Day. After the sawmill today, I went to their house bearing a repeat bloom hydrangea as a gift and found the two of them actually sitting there watching a movie together. It was about football and believing in miracles by letting Big Ernie take charge of things which is a lesson we can all take to heart. Even though I only saw the last ten minutes, I knew that he had gotten the most out of his very special afternoon. Back in the day, this man was a sports NUT to the point where we didn't dare speak during an important game because, well. He was in a dang coma and couldn't be reached. Many running Stafford fits resulted from a dropped ball or an overtime loss.

My Daddy taught me lots of valuable lessons like how to make things grow and the importance of being honest and giving back when blessed. He grew up as a sharecropper's son, living the hard life of an only son with three sisters. Two of them are still alive, just like you see them in that picture up there. We are here for him, and for Mom as they age and move toward the promise that a spiritual upbringing instills. That? Is what family is all about.

And tomorrow, we will plant that hydrangea and water it with faith.

^j^