Happy Father's Day!

Dads, we salute you! There is a wonderful place in a family that only a (good) Dad can fill.(That goes for Grampa's too!) I am so thankful I had one of those good Dads. There is a unique bank of memories that I treasure reserved for Dad alone....For instance, I knew when he went into the store, he would always bring me a bag of planters peanuts, or a hershey bar. I remember many times, he would head out the door on some errand, he would ask, "You want to go?" And then the light in his eyes when I said, "Yes!"

I remember him stopping the car at a little store in the county and bringing back "grab bag" prizes, and making me wonderful beds by the fire on a cold winter's night, tucking the blankets all around. When I got older, we shared a passion for reading, the same love of jazz and John Denver. We loved discovering magical secret places, walking down little alleyways, and haiku. After he came to know God, we shared Him too. My Dad introduced me to so many different things without even knowing it. He never turned away someone who needed help moving, or doing anything else for that matter. He was a champion who would always take my side, to my Mother's chagrin!

Father's Day always takes me back to Yosemite, our favorite place. We would always go in June and usually Father's Day was spent there. Each year, I would walk across the meadow in the morning mist and buy a Sunday paper and an Almond Joy candy bar and present it to him. Every year he would act just as thrilled to get it! Well, Dad, I am thankful for you today and I hope the Almond Joys I sent in the box along with the paper survived the merciless Arizona heat! Today you will be celebrating with Mom, along with my brother (happy Dad's day to you too) and your current fave, Granddaughter Lauryn, who never leaves your side.

"The most important thing a father can do
for his children is to love their mother."
Fathers Day Quote by: Unknown