I remember you were fighting a war to make my future safe when I was born ...
I remember when you came home I didn't know who you were ...
I remember you sang me to sleep when I cried ...
I remember your big warm hand holding my small scared one when I had bad dreams ...
I remember the hugs and kisses to make things better ...
I remember your teasing "Good morning sunshine!" when I started my days ...
I remember our special birthday dinners, just you and me ...
I remember your patience teaching me to drive ...
I remember your proud smiles when I graduated from high school ...
I remember your joy when your granddaughter arrived ...
I remember the heart and hands always ready to help in my need ...
I remember the support and encouragement when I dared to make changes ...
I remember your faith in my abilities that I didn't even have myself ...
I remember your excitement when you became a great grandfather ...
I remember boundless trust in me during your hours of need ...
I remember your unconditional love for me and mine for you ...
These precious memories are what sustain me ... keep you close to me ... always keep you alive in my heart ...
A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.
He growls when he feels good and laughs very loud when he
is scared half-to-death. A father never feels entirely worthy of
the worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks
. . .Never quite the man his son believes him to be. And this
worries him sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough
places in the road of those of his own who will follow him.)
A father is a person who goes to war sometimes . . .and would
run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his
life, (which is making the world better for his child than it
has been for him.)
Fathers grow older faster than people, because they, in other
wars, have to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to the uniform
that climbs onboard. And, while mothers cry where it shows,
fathers stand and beam . . .outside . . . and die inside.
Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men, who aren't
nearly good enough, so that they can have children that are smarter
than anybody's. Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry
away from the breakfast table, off to the arena which is sometimes called
an office or a workshop. There, with callused hands, they tackle
the dragon with three heads; Weariness, Works, and Monotony. And
they never quite win the fight, but they never give up.
Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers: There's
little difference as they march away each workday. I don't know where father
goes when he dies, but I've an idea that, after a good rest,
wherever it is, he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved
and the children she bore. He'll be busy there too . . .repairing
the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.
~Author Unknown
When somebody dies, a cloud turns into
an angel, and flies up to tell God
to put another flower on a pillow.
A bird gives the message back to
the world, and sings a silent prayer
that makes the rain cry. People dis-
appear, but they never really go away.
The spirits up there put the sun to
bed, wake up grass, and spin the
earth in dizzy circles. Sometimes you
can see them dancing in a cloud during
the day-time, when they're supposed
to be sleeping. They paint the rain-
bows and also the sunsets and make
waves splash and tug at the tide.
They toss shooting stars and listen to
wishes. And when they sing wind-
songs, they whisper to us, don't
miss me too much. The view is nice
and I'm doing just fine.
God saw he was getting tired
A cure was not to be
So he put his arms around him
And whispered "Come with Me"
with pain filled hearts
and tear-filled eyes
we watched him fade away
Although we loved him dearly
we could not make him stay
Lord, Keep your arms around him
and in your Loving care
Make up for all he suffered
and all that seemed unfair
A golden heart has stopped beating,
Hard working hands are at rest
God has broken our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the Best!
