Posted June 17th, 2013 at 4:52 am1 Comment
This Father’s Day I am thinking about how I no longer have any living Father’s or husband around to spoil and buy presents. I am remembering all the other fathers in my life. Brothers, brother-in-laws, son-in-laws and friends who make up the majority of the men I know at this season of my life.
My own fathers who loved me with all their heart, where not actually men who I could say were around me very much. One was an absent father and one was always at work or watching a sport on TV while listening to the races on an earphone at the same time. They were men who were there for me as they could be but basically they were either so quiet I barely knew they were there or gone. I loved them nevertheless.
Even with all their idiosyncrasies they do not even compare with my award this year for the WORST father of the year, who will remain nameless. This horrible award goes to a certain old friend who has recently been arrested for child molestation and rape of clearly 5 children and we suspect up to 9, just this year. Who knows what else he has done over the years. I have been ministering to the whole bunch of kids and mothers and it has opened my eyes to just how wonderful all the men in my life are to their families.
I will start with Bill. You are such a delight to see you parent with Suzie all your brood of kids and grandkids. It has not always been easy and they have presented you with a few, shall we say, challenges. You have risen to the challenge and walked through all of life’s obstacles with grace and laughter. I heard you took off work, from a very busy schedule, to help raise your grandkids this year and you have always been there financially when the rubber met the road to pick up the pieces for those in need. Well done! I am so honored to know you and say you are my brother-in-law.
Jay, my brother ~ WOW! I am so proud of the man you have become. I am in a unique position being raised right across the hall from you to know just how great you are. I see how you take responsibility of your kids so seriously and how you even get up every Saturday and allow Leigh, your wife, to sleep in so she can have a day off. You take them to all there sporting events and you help coach as needed, you work on their camps and take them to church and you are there for them every night actively putting them to bed and reading goodnight stories. You are the best father I know and I am so proud of you. Not to mention all you do at work and for our home town ~ you are the best Jay, you really are.
Andy ~ my nephew. Every time I think of you I smile. I just love how you are always traveling around having fun and how you make time for Katelyn and Shelley. You have risen to the challenge of fatherhood and it has obviously made you the best man that you could be. You have grown so much and I have noticed how you help others and how you are growing in your faith in the Lord. I love you sweetheart and I have never been more proud of you as a man and a father. Aunt Cyndi Approves.
To Francois, the newest father of the year ~ your sweet new baby boy is still in the oven but that does not mean you are not a father already, for life does begin at conception. I have watched as you patiently endure your sweet wife’s aches and pains, her sleepy moods and her moody sleep. She is growing your baby boy right inside of her and you are doing all you can to make that as pleasant an experience for you both as is humanly possible. You are rising to the challenge of becoming the only breadwinner of the family so you can have a child that is homeschooled and raised at home. I am so honored to call you my grandchild’s father and my dear son-in-law. You have chosen the better part and your family will grow and be blessed because you are the man you are, faithful and honorable. I love you dearly.
Rob, my dear friend Rob. Life has thrown you a few curves, my friend and you find yourself a father and a grandfather at age 36 ~ WOW! But you try to stay active in your girl’s lives and to lead them to the Lord with every chance you get. I see how you love them and how you are trying to be a good example for your children, something that you were not privileged to have as you grew up. You are a much better father to your girls than you had and I am so proud of you too. Well done!
To the men in my life who do not have any kids yet! Get plenty of sleep while you can and take your sweetie out all dressed up as many times as you can, while you still feel like it! LOL!
No, seriously, I am sure that all of you, Chris, Tertius and others will find it in your hearts and pockets to be the best daddy’s the world has ever seen when it becomes your turns. The cream always rises to the top and you guys are the best!
Happy, Happy, Happy Father’s Day to you all ~ may you find great joy in your lives as fathers and may the Lord bless you with laughter and peace in the journey ~ I love you ~ Grand mama CC ~ Cyndi ~ mama CC ~ and Mademoiselle CC
Dear Cyndi,
Thank you for the reflections and the love and encouragement you shared with all of us.
I am grateful to have family and children who continue to love us in spite of our own weaknesses and a gracious, loving God who is always there to lift me up. I was extremely blessed to have a father who past along a wonderful legacy as a father and a man. May we continue to look to Him for strength and wisdom and love as we navigate each day.