The Sun Rises on Father's Day

 

by Pa Rock

Father and Grandfather

Sunday morning.  The sun is coming up slowly in the Missouri Ozarks, but there is already enough light that I have been outside and fed the cat, the one the neighbor also feeds, and let the guinea out of his nightly confinement in the coop.  All appears to be functioning normally at The Roost, with one big exception, a light rain is falling and weather reports indicate that it may continue throughout the day.  We love rain here in the Ozarks, even if it does make the grass grow.

All of that and it's Father's Day.   I have some genetic responsibility for the existence of nine other individuals on this planet, so I guess that I have a biological right to make a claim on this holiday.  Happy Father's Day to me - and it is a happy one.  All of my kids and grandkids seem to be in relatively good health and experiencing success in life - and that's really all that a Dad, at least this Dad, needs in life.

But this year there's more.  

My youngest son and his family just returned from a drive through the northeastern United States and some of Canada where Tim wanted to revisit some things that he remembered from a similar family trip when he was very young.  Family vacations make some of the strongest memories, and sadly most of us do not realize their value until the kids are grown and gone.

Change that, Dads.

My daughter and her family took a big vacation last year, one which centered on visiting relatives, but did include a couple of very memorable side excursions.  I predict that Molly's kids will talk the Titanic Museum and Silver Dollar City for the rest of their lives.

This year I had a personal surprise for Father's Day, something that does not happen often.  My oldest son, who works most days, said that other evening that he thought he would go out and mow for awhile.  Usually the mowing is my chore, and I am rather possessive about it, but I've not been feeling too great recently and I didn't argue.  My son had sessions on the big riding mower three evenings or so in a row before I ventured out into the yard to see how he was doing and to get a sense of how much I would be left to complete before leaving on a trip the next week.  Not only did I discover that the yard was looking great, but I also noticed with great pleasure that it was almost all mowed!

This morning, Father's Day, the day is breaking over my yard - which is completely mowed - and I wasn't involved at all!  (I didn't even have to buy the considerable amount of gasoline that was necessary for the job!)

Thanks, Nick.  I really feel special, and now I can head out to the East Coast tomorrow with a clear conscience and a freshly mowed yard.  What a great feeling!

May every father have something special to smile about today!