Father's Day

This is a bittersweet day.

It is a painful reminder for me that my father is no longer here. It's an emptiness I carry with me. I can't simply call up my dad, or have a beer with him. He has been gone for 15 years. But, he helped shape me into the person I have been, the person I am, and the person I will be. So in that sense, he is always still with me. 

He is with me, then, when I am with my son. Lately I've been able to look into his eyes, look at his face, and start to see the young man he will be some day. My mind races with possibilities. Who will he become? What direction will his life take?   It's exciting to dream about the person he will be.

But it's also exciting to simply be here with him and love and enjoy the person he is now. I can not imagine my life without him, for he has made mine all the richer. I only hope I do the same for him.