With four healthy children and their spouses and four grandsons in our family, my wife, Janis, and I are very blessed. (Janis and I and our grandsons are pictured at left at a family reunion two weeks ago).
And yesterday was a picture-perfect Father's Day. Yet I felt a twinge of melancholy. Janis and I spent the early morning walking in our neighborhood and listening to the birds. When we got home, our daughter, Kristen, called from Phoenix to wish me a happy Father's Day. Kristen is our oldest child and was born on Father's Day 33 years ago (quite the Father's Day present). Our son, Dave, called next from Santa Barbara. He was born 30 years ago on Mother's Day (what a coincidence!) during the year I started working as a lawyer at Frito-Lay.
Dave is a new father, and told me he had been thinking about the legacy I've passed to him. He reminded me of the time years ago that we were on our boat and he and his siblings were arguing with each other. He said I told them to calm down because their argument was not important in the grand scheme of life, but what was important is that we were able to be together as a family on a beautiful summer day. I felt honored that this was an important memory for him and has helped shaped this “legacy” I've given him.
Then, to top off Father's Day, Janis and I had a great dinner with our fraternal twins who live in Dallas, Brett and Matt, Matt's wife, Lorraine, and their 6-month-old son, Nathan.
So on such a wonderful day, why was I feeling a bit melancholy? In part because Kristen and Dave and their families live so far away. But also because Father's Day brings back sweet memories of our children growing up -- and I miss those days.
It's a cliché, but it's so true: Time passes by way too quickly. It seems like all those years that our children were growing up and I was working at Frito-Lay passed by in the blink of an eye. And so, this Father's Day reminded me again how important it is to appreciate the small moments and value the family and friends in our lives. How did you spend Father's Day?
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