Friday, June 19, 2009

Father's Day


Some things never change! I am "reposting" the tribute that I wrote to my daddy last year. Though the little girl has grown up, the woman still reaches back in time when she needs comfort amd safety that only a daddy's hugs can give. Happy "Daddy's" Day to the first man I loved. As these words from my heart's memory reveal, he was one special person! The poem was written by that famous poet "Anonymous."

It's Father's Day! To me it's Daddy's Day! It takes a special kind of father to be a "daddy." What is a daddy? Well, for me it was a "brown-eyed, handsome" man. He could do anything like....notch a board for a rope swing, guide my bike as I tried to pedal for the first time, make a backboard on Saturday, which I told him I needed on Friday-- for my science project that was due on Monday, fix anything and everything that came apart, build a doghouse for the collie puppy that he brought home just for me,.....Yes, he could, he would, and he did everything like daddies are supposed to do. After retirement, the strong construction worker took up watching "General Hospital" with my mom because it made her happy. I recall thinking that it took some kind of guy to sit through Luke and Laura's ups and downs and just smile all the way through it. Another 10 years down the road I can see dad and mom toodling in his antique Falcon. He always watched over Mom...drove her everywhere. He was her 24/7 caregiver as she slipped from us. How difficult it must have been to see her memories of their entire life just quietly disappear. At one point there was mention of a nursing home for Mom because her care was becoming so demanding. When the day came to checkout the home, Dad sat at their kitchen table and said, "We're not going to that place. I promised her on the day we married that I would take care of her for the rest of my life. I'm gonna do that." So, for another year, he insisted on being her care provider with very little assistance. He wanted to be the one there for her. Mom died just one month short of their 61st anniversary. When I became daddy's caregiver, he would just grin and say, "Just remember, you're not the boss, Missy!" I love you daddy! You are so missed! Happy Daddy's Day! Hug Mom for me! I found the following poem online. Someone else knows all about "daddy."


A little girl needs Daddy
For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!
Like being the deep music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain
That rises in her heart
And shows her how she might get home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving her the love
That is her sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She'll always find him there.

2 comments:

barbarasaintjacques said...

Ms Summer Gyspsy, you were definitely blessed.

Laurie said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful daddy. I know you miss him, but the love never dies.