Significance of a Father

For a couple of weekends when I was about 2 - 3 years old….there was a very handsome man about 6’5”... He was so tall and so strong. He held me in his arms with ease and I felt so safe there. He put me up on his shoulders and took me for a ride. He gave me ice cream and cotton candy. He gave me lollypops and hotdogs. He told me I was a beautiful girl. I felt loved and protected. I had no fear with this man holding me in his arms. Since those few weekends, it has been 60+ years, but it feels just like yesterday. I remember this significant man…this was my father…..this was no dream. This was real. This was the last time I saw or heard from my father. Even though I spent only a moment in time with my father, the significant impact this man had on me and my life in that short span was wonderful and I remember that weekend even now.

I had a dream about my father...

• Father talked to me in my mother’s womb. He loved me even then.

• Father was there when I was born holding me for the first time, kissing me.

• Father sang to me while I lay in the crib…never forgot that song.

• Father changed my diapers and bathed me.

• Father helped me to say my ABCs, helped me with words, and my reading.

• Father played games with me under the stars and told me about the constellations.

• Father went with me to my first day of school….he cried…did not want to leave me.

• Father shared many stories with me.

• Father provided food and shelter for me.

• Father provided protection and strength for me.

• Father was concerned when I started dating, did not like any of my dates.

• Father stayed up many nights waiting on the steps for me to come home.

• Father taught me how to throw a basketball in the hoop and how to hit a baseball.

• Father taught me how to change a tire.

• Father taught me how to hang pictures…make things…repair things.

• Father taught me how to protect myself from others.

• Father was very nervous about me getting married. He wanted much for me to happy and for my marriage to last forever.

• Father was so happy to become a grandfather.

• Father started sharing his stories with the grandchildren.

• Father was always my teacher, my protector, and my strength.

In my life, I have wished for all the things I dreamed above. Even though the encounter with my father was very, very brief in my life, the dream of what my father could have been has stayed in my psyche all these years. Additionally, the short encounter with my father had a monumental effect on me and who I am today, as well as how I think. Because of this encounter, I searched for a man who could be the personification of that encounter with my father. In marrying, Thell, my husband, I feel I found the embodiment of that encounter with my father. My husband is my best friend and he provides me and our children with all the things I dreamt of above, along with his love, his strength, and his protection.

Whether you spend a very short time, maybe only a few weekends; or whether you spend many years with your father….never underestimate the significant impact a father can have on you for the rest of your life!

On this Father’s day, tell your father how much he means to you and how significant he is in your life!