DAD

 

I’ve been writing and re-writing this particular post for months, and now that it’s  Father’s Day I am driven to finish it.

This past January 11, 2010, my Dad passed away unexpectedly with a sudden massive heart attack.  He is the reason I have gray hair.

Dad was one of the few that didn’t think it strange when I kept my full crown of glory at such a “young” age.  At least he didn’t tell me it was strange.  In fact he was proud to say that I had inherited his gray hair, and in the last few years I attributed that fact to him when sharing with others.

Dad was by no means perfect, none of us are, but he was the one I could always depend on, no matter what.  He was always there at the drop of a hat whenever my sister or I needed him. And of course Dad knew everything, much to my poor husband’s dismay. Dad was always the second opinion (who quickly became the only opinon!) and the expert when it came to all things automotive.  I went to him on advice for various things and I still have the urge to call him when I need that advice.

Not only did Dad and I have our gray hair in common, but we both loved “old things” and being in the mountains. He was always calling me with something he had “found” at an auction, junk shop or yard sale.  It was not uncommon for him to purchase some of those ”treasures” and show up on my doorstep like a cat that swallowed a canary, to show off the bargain he had found and leave it for me, whether I wanted it or not.  I’m glad I kept those treasures.

As a child all our vacations were in the mountains, and as an adult dad bought a “family” cabin in the mountains, but we all knew it was really just for him!  In the mountains is where he felt most at home, where he “belonged”, where he felt peace.  I never understood that until I moved to the mountains. I’ll just bet that God has given Dad the ultimate cabin surrounded by mountains even more majestic than here on earth.

I’m glad I haven’t covered my gray in the past several years because it connected dad and I even more. And now, everytime I look in the mirror I see my dad, and that’s not a bad thing at all, no, not a bad thing at all.

I thank God for the genetic inheritance Dad left me.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  ~ Psalm 121:1

 

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