Good post Justice

I think it's okay to leak a little (cry) on these special days, especially when the wounds are still fresh. For me, over the years it has given me less to cry about and more to be thankful for - having had such a wonderful father in my life.

When I was a little girl, I'd walk up to him when he was relaxing on the couch or in a chair. I'd freefall onto him, crashing into his chest, and he'd wrap his arms around me. He never minded this, regardless of how tired he was from work. I'd climb onto his lap and rest my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating. He'd wrap his arms around me and say "Let's enjoy it" - meaning the quiet time we had together at that moment.

As I got older, he didn't quite know what to do with me - and I had become an angry and rebellious teenager.

He'd wake me up before dawn on Saturdays and take me out to the woods. We'd watch the sunrise, take a long walk, then cook breakfast on a grill.* We did this year round, even during frigid winters.

Most times I really enjoyed being out there with him because there were no rules.* We could talk about anything, or nothing at all.* He'd sometimes tell me stories of his childhood that would pertain to something that was going on in my life, but he'd leave it at that.* He'd act like it was just a memory that popped up.* He'd allow me to make the correlation and how it would fit into my life.

He'd talk about how important I was to him, telling stories of how he kept sneaking into the delivery room when I was born.* He'd tell me stories of when I was a baby, and how the overwhelming love never goes away regardless of how old we get.

Other times he ticked me off, especially on really cold mornings when I wanted to sleep.* He'd push me to walk through deep snow.* When I complained about the cold, he'd laugh and talk about how great it is to be alive.

It gave me a lot of strength and courage to keep fighting my battles.* Our symbolic games when I was a child turned out to be true. From beginning to end, he was always there to catch me when I fell.

It's obvious you were also very important to your father. I'm sure he'd be glad to know you plan to keep on surviving.

May our fathers rest in peace.