Well actually it’s Father’s Day. The one day of the year when men are allowed to be all soppy and sentimental… and will allow their children to be all soppy and sentimental over them as well.
Being connected to quite a few people from all over the world through facebook can be entertaining, but it can also be useful for keeping up with your family.
My cousin is currently wandering around Europe as part of her degree and because she won’t be with her dad today, she wrote him a poem on his FB wall. It brought tears to my eyes because it is so expressive.
Other friends are posting pictures of their dads and telling us why they feel their father’s are so special. Some of these stories are funny, some are sad, others are a combination, but the fact remains that every single rememberance is full of one emotion in particular – Love.
Love is the glue that holds families together and even in those families that have been split apart by distance or tragedy, the love shared is the stretchy, elastic that keeps you linked.
My Dad is in New York. He moved there with my step-mother a long while back and even though he is five thousand or so miles away, I can feel the elastic between us, stretched tightly and tugging on my heart. So I thought I would try and explain to you what makes my Dad special to me…
We’ll start with a blast from the past…
Puff the Magic Dragon is one of the few songs I can remember my dad playing and singing to me when I was little. It is the reason that my muse is named Puff and that I love dragons.
Puff the Magic, Storytelling Dragon
My dad likes to design things and as well as producing things for his Second Life obsession, he is also a Master Craftsman and an Artist.
Dad’s Artwork
I associate the smell of wood with my dad; he taught me a lot about crafting just from letting me hang around his workshop when he was turning and because of what I’d learned from watching him, I was able to pass my workshop safety on the Lathe without actually having any lessons on using it.
*grins*
So I decided to use my craft to create something for him – a poem:
To Dad
I miss you a lot,
You’ve been gone a long time,
You are my dad,
You age like good wine.
You taught me about fish,
You taught me about wood,
You taught me to know,
The bad from the good.
You showed me the beauty,
That comes from the heart,
In music and crafting,
You gave me the start.
Now Puff is my muse,
I know he’s not new,
And I will never lose,
The love I have for you
It’s not perfect, but then again, my dad isn’t perfect – what human is?
My Dad and Step-Mother
My children have a wonderful Father.
TOH isn’t perfect either; but he is loving, funny, playful. He enjoys discovering new things and teaching the children about them. He can always be counted on to entertain them with paint or clay or animation and he’s not above chasing them around the supermarket with his “tickle fingers” making them shriek with laughter…
*rolls eyes and sighs*
TOH and one of his favourite creatures…
He loves animals and if we had the space (and money), I am convinced that he’d have so many cats that I wouldn’t be able to turn around for fear of tripping up! If it were legal to have tigers and large cats as pets, TOH would have a White Tiger and a Snow Leopard as well – he’s had to make do with adopting a Snow Leopard through the WWF instead.
Everyone’s father is special in some way and I devoutly hope that my children grow to appreciate theirs, even when he takes up the role of Disciplinarian / Chief Embarrasser / Daughter Protector as they turn into teenagers.
Happy Father’s Day to all Fathers, no matter where they are, may your elastic bonds never snap.
