Pop

I was going to write this yesterday, but we had an ice storm and we lost power for 24 hours. Better late than never.

Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of my father's death. I could go on with the usual "he was a great man" or something along those lines. Basically putting a halo over his head, but I'm not going to do that.

My father was a good man who provided well for his family. He had an unhappy childhood, he was put into an orphanage twice by my grandmother. He served in WWII even though underage at the time. He was an uneducated man, but he read with a voracious appetite.

He worked in an industry where he bettered himself with his sharp mind and great ambition for success. He embodied the american dream.

When I was a child, I barely saw my father. He would often work late, and so we kids would have dinner on our own and then mom and pop would eat later. I looked forward to the weekends when we would all eat together.

My father worked hard and made a name for himself in the industry that he chose. By the time of his early retirement he was one of the most sought after in his field.

Later in life my father would tell me that he spent too much time on his career, and not enough on us. This was well before he got sick. I of course, as seemed to be my lot in life, disagreed with him. After all, by this time I was a father myself and working hard to provide for my family. It is amazing the things you pick up from your parents without even thinking about it, but I was busy working my 70 hour work weeks to make a name for myself in the industry that I chose.

Now that I am a little bit older and my kids are basically living on their own, I can understand more of what my father tried to teach me, and ultimately what he did teach me. My career, while still important, is so much less important than my family. I know that I am somewhat dense, but it actually took my father's death to teach me that.

This summer, my beautiful daughter is getting married. I am so proud of her, as I am of both of my daughters. I only hope that I can pass along the lessons that were passed on to me, no matter how late my father thought those lessons were.

In closing, my father was a great man. He gave me purpose in life. He gave me drive. He gave me a lust for life. He, along with my mother gave me everything that I am.

Pop, I miss you. I love you. And I pray daily that God is looking over you, and that you are looking over me.