Happy Father's Day

Too much in the news is about men behaving badly.  Father's Day is to focus on men doing good.  

My dad and mom married young by today's standards.  He was 21, she was 19.  They became parents about a year and a half later, and remained married until they passed on.  In between, they produced and nurtured five children.  

When this photo was taken, Dad would have been about 32 years old.  He already had three children, and in fact, the photo was taken by my older sister.  

I remember Dad having a dry sense of humor, an intellectual side, and playing with language a lot.  He was proud as punch of all his children, and took up going to concerts or diving meets, or whatever his kids were into.  In short he was a dad.  

He was not one of the modern day change the diapers, drop the kids off as school kind of dad... he was a "take the kids on adventures to give their mom a break" kind of dad.  He would take us camping.  He would share what he knew of history.  He took special joy in the local history of our state.

My son's dad, on the other hand, was a hands-on from birth kind of dad.  He chose my son's clothing, saw that he got fed, and cared for him while I was off at the office working.  Never mind that when I had a split shift and came home for a few hours, I would be handed the baby who needed changing and asked what was for the next meal.  In a way, we reversed roles during my son's youngest years.

My dad's been gone for nearly 24 years now, and I can still hear many of his thoughts rattling around in my head.  

May today be a good one for Dads of all stripes.  And may their children be blessed in recognizing the value of each of them, in their own unique way.

Happy Father's Day!  Keep Sparking!