Father's day

It's been 9 years since my father died; he passed right after Mother's Day 2010.  While it does get a little easier with every year that goes by, I still miss him - as I do my mother (that was 30 years ago, this past April).  

I was very fortunate; my parents were good people who loved me, made me feel loved and protected and only wanted the best for me - especially as they didn't have money.  They raised me well - taught me well; how to do things correctly (and it's always been of my own doing when I went down a wrong path) and how to (most importantly) think for myself.  That lesson served me well, when I saw friends start to get into alcohol and drugs as a teenager.  They knew I would experiment but they also knew I did have a rational, balanced head on my shoulders.  So I never fell prey to the pitfalls.

My dad was a kind and patient man; he had his own struggles, problems and sadness; by the time he had to move into assisted living, our roles had reversed - I was the parent and he was, tragically, the child.  But over the 21 years that he and I had to tough it out after my mother's death, we got to know one another as people and that's something that will happily live with me for the remainder of my life.

I'm not a father, but I'm sure I would have done a good job, as my dad did with me.