Father's Day

As I grow older, the "kiddie" holidays mean less and less to me - like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter. I don't enjoy the candy and I'm over the mythical holiday visitors. The holidays that mean the most to me are the one's that honor what I care for most - my parents and our veterans.

I never totally understood Father's Day as a child...why would a dad want his own day? A father was a father every day. Where they supposed to celebrate their achievements as a father? This seemed to be self absorbing and wasteful. I also deliberated on whether this mean that dad "got the day off". But my dad always had the day off, and the TV on. Snoring away in the lazyboy and not watching the golf tournament was how he always spent Sundays, even Father's Day. I never got to watch him be a daddy, because he was my daddy. Now that I am older, I realize what Father's Day is about. I realize that Father's Day is a day for me to celebrate my father.

I am not sure if there is a "Father Training Academy"...if there was, I'm pretty sure that my dad would have found it senseless. My dad is a brazen leader, bold disciplinarian, and top fan of his children. Dad never believed his children could do no wrong, but they would make the right wrong. He used words like gumption and responsibility. We used words like "but I'm tired", or "I don't want to cut the grass"...

I aspire to be half of the man, father and husband my dad has been. I aspire to be none of the politician he is, but he's a good one - despite my boss's insistence that all politicians are dirty and crooked. My dad is dirty, but only after hauling firewood all afternoon. My dad is crooked, but only after he sits for a while and can't seem to stand up straight. He's honest and admirable. and I honestly admire him.

Dad is my best friend...sure I have had best friends in high school, college, and North Carolina - but he has been my friend the longest. Always firm, but always forgiving, my dad "learnt me well." It was just up to me to pay attention in "class".

We are "huntin' buddies", tailgate companions at Auburn football games, pilot and co-pilot of cross county road trips, and father and son. He's the teacher, and I'm the pupil.

What genuinely warms my heart is knowing that dad tried his hardest to do right. His mother shaped him in her mold. I have heard my dad discuss his dad less than a handful of times. I hate that my dad didn't reap the benefits as a son, that I have reaped from being his son. I can't dishonor my dad's dad - I never met the man. I also can't honor him. But I can feel sorry for him, for failing to find the opportunity to get to know his son and my father.

My dad is a great story teller, and I have enjoyed writing my life story with him. We also like to reminisce on past chapters from time to time. Dad - If you read this take a moment to remember these times...

Eating Slim Jims and Doritos at 5:00 in the morning before going hunting...I know your imagining me running and leaping in to the oversized truck...

Remember my cowboy boots? Remember the night I slipped in the garage? I do!

Remember my first deer?

Remember when the boat broke down and coach hayes towed us back - you always told me we couldn't catfish and bass fish out of the same boat - I think you were right.

Remember my high school years? I am tring not to remember - but thanks for the guidance.

Remember the Auburn-Florida Game of 1993 - that winning field goal was great!

Remember the Auburn - Vandy Game when it rained?

Remember shearing my lamb?

Remember the flat tire I got on the Ridge Road?

Remember the SEC Championship Game...what about a "Manhattan!?"

Remember the acorn incident at the Auburn - Alabama game? Remember Carnell running for 80 yards on the first play!

Remember the talk you had with me my first semester at Auburn?

Remember the when I left for North Carolina?

Dad - I love you a bunch...I can't express it in this amateurish blog, but it's my best attempt from 700 miles away. I cherish every memory form the past, every moment of the present, and I look forward to the future... these things must happen, and happen soon!

We MUST go duck hunting this upcoming season!
We MUST take that cross-country road trip!
I MUST beat you in golf for only the second time in the history of the galaxy.

Love you dad! Hate I can't see you on Sunday, but I'll be thinking about you...