Father’s Day 2020
Guess it’s not too late to keep celebrating Father’s Day. About two weeks earlier, COVID-19 forced us to scrub a timeshare trip to Phoenix that would have begun on Father’s Day, and since the week was blocked out already, I decided to take a restorative trip to Rock Creek in the Sierras, my favorite trout stream. Driving up on Highway 395, I decided to dedicate the trip to Dad. Here’s why.
Appropriate
a solo Sierra trip
to begin on Father’s Day
in the 40th year since your passing
50 years after you brought me here as a fishing partner
95 years since you first wet a line in Rock Creek
to retrace what you brought me
what you taught me
on the streams and in between fishing times
lying on pads exploring daytime clouds
and nighttime stars
to honor you with a beer
on Rock Creek
in Rock Creek
alternating sips
the stream (for you) and me
to fish again on our signature streams
on the road leading home
You, 72 on your last trip
before emphysema ended your high-country times
Me, 72 on this
God willing not my last
though my legs and balance do whisper hints
So much we shared
No, dad wasn’t perfect. But the man who pulled his own teeth with just a shot of whiskey and pliers taught me about being strong. And when my sis and I got sick he’d sit with us and hold our hands, and taught us strength can come with gentleness. He cherished family. Truly, my heavenly father blessed me with my earthly father.
So let’s think about dad’s for more than just a day.
Kick Starting the Application
Think about your relationship with your dad. What do you most cherish? Why? What were the best lessons he taught you? How did he make you a better person, or father? What might you need to forgive him for, and move beyond that? What can you pass on from him? How did he reflect our Heavenly Father?