Echos of a Dad

The last few Father’s Days have been tough. It is yet another day when Dale’s absence feels more raw. But this Father’s Day has a twinge of sweetness, because there is a new dad in our midst. My son became a father this past August.

It was a joy and privilege to watch my sweet grand son come into the world! My daughter-in-law was simply amazing and it is a memory I will always cherish. But many times during the event I thought of Dale. I thought of the jokes he would be cracking and the tears he would be shedding. It just felt so wrong that he was not with us to share in this incredible joy. The drive home from the hospital was a very lonely one for me. I thought of Nate and Laurie together basking in the joy of this perfect little person. I thought of Laurie’s parents who together had come from Switzerland for the birth. I thought of the joyous conversation I would have had with Dale as we embraced the new status of Grandparent. But instead it was a silent drive home.

Dale was a wonderful father! He was not a perfect dad of course, there is no such thing. But he loved our kids ferociously. He and my own father did two things very right in raising their kids.

They played and they prayed.

My dad used to say that kids spell love: TIME. There really is something powerful about taking the time to play with your kids. I can still see Dale playing all sorts of games with them in the yard and basketball in the driveway. He would spend hours on the shores of Lake Michigan helping them build elaborate sand castles. He loved playing cards and other table games with them too. When you play with kids, you win their hearts, and that sure was the case. They would fight to sit next to him when we went to restaurants, etc.

He also was passionate about praying for them. He would pray for each of them at bedtime. He would bless them and their futures he would never live to see. I believe those prayers will continue to bear fruit. There are of course, other requirements of fatherhood, but those two are a good place to start.

Sometimes you can feel an absence so strongly that it is tangible. There is a void that seems so dark. But lately I see glimpses of light. I hear Dale’s voice and the funny sounds he used to make playing with the kids. I hear that from my son as he plays with his baby. I see history repeating and the love and devotion of a dad flowing on to the next generation.

Happy Father’s Day.