Well, it’s a little late, but Happy Father’s Day to my dad, my Gramps, and to my Prince, who is a wonderful Dad to two awesome sons. And Happy Father’s Day to all the other dads, stepdads, pup dads, etc. out there. I hope you had a great weekend celebrating YOU! On Sunday, we celebrated my Heart with a Father’s Day brunch at our local Riverside Golf Course. Then we did some projects and had dinner with friends at Hitchy’s while watching the end of the US Open. It was a great day! But also a sad day because I didn’t have my dad to call to wish a Happy Father’s Day.
My Dad left us 14 years ago on May 23rd, losing his battle with lung cancer. How has it been 14 years? It’s so unreal. Then, to try to wrap my head around the fact that his battle started nine years before that, when he was just 51 years old.
Fifty-one! And now I am 50. It makes me so sad when I sit still long enough to think about it. It makes me so mad. I wish he were here. I would love for Jeff to meet him. I would love for the kids to meet him. He would have loved being a grandfather. He would have loved traveling and enjoying retirement. He would have loved golfing when he could and teaching the grandkids how to change a tire. I appreciate the 36 years I had with him, but most days I wish it were more. It just sucks.
I was driving to an appointment a few weeks ago in Florida in Ellie EOS the V, which is a stickshift, and I was listening to Y2Country when Alan Jackson’s Drive came on. The song brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of my dad. As young as we were when we had a boat, he taught us to drive it. When we were 12, he taught us how to drive a car and told us how important it was to learn to drive a stickshift. It made me appreciate all that he taught us, but also made me wish he were here to call when I was thinking about him.
Why he was taken so young, I don’t know. All I know is his death taught me to live life more fully. If you follow my social media, then you see that I do try to live my life to the fullest. I most likely overcompensate for the losses in my life by trying to explore every inch of the world around me. But someone knew what was on my heart, and someone sent me my soulmate, who happens to like traveling and experiencing the world just as much as I do. They sent me someone who opened my world to things I didn’t even know were possible. And for that I appreciate. So thank you, Dad, for sending me someone who loves me as much as you loved us.
My Rock and I want to see as much of this world as possible while also wanting to make as many memories as possible. We love being around people. We love laughing and taking it all in. Of course, life isn’t all roses, but we try to make the best of what we’ve got.
I hope all the dads out there had an amazing Father’s Day, and I hope they continue to be appreciated by their children for all the amazing work that they do throughout the year. For all the dads that need to do the job of both mom and dad, I hope you know how wonderful you are and what an inspiration you are to others. And to those missing their dads like I do, keep your head up and make your father proud by living the best life that you can.