Today is my Dad's birthday. As I tossed and turned this morning I was thinking back to when I was a struggling single Mom. My hours had been cut at work and I was not sure how I was going to make ends meet. My Mom and Dad offered to help me out by letting me move home. My Dad offered to remodel their basement so that Ashleigh and I could move in and still have some privacy and I jumped at the chance. At the time my two youngest sisters were still living at home, (they were actually close in age to what my girls are now). I am sure that this was not an easy decision for my parents, I know how little alone time Mark and I have now, with our two girls rambling around, and I was coming into their home at the age of twenty-five and bringing along a two and a half year old. Talk about sacrificing for your kids, this was huge! It was not always easy for any of us, but with their help and support I was able to move out after a year and a half into my own mobile home.
If I add in the times that my Dad would be at my mobile home early in the morning to make some emergency repair like fixing my thermostat on my furnace the day after Christmas or the two times he climbed under my mobile home with me to help me thaw out the frozen pipes and wrap them in heat tape. I start to believe that perhaps this man loved me just a little. We have not always stood on the same side of an opinion, (perhaps that is due to the fact that we both hold our own opinions in high regard). We have also struggled with how to show each other the love we have for each other. Speaking for myself, I have always struggled with this and can only assume that it goes way back to never knowing my birth father and not being sure how to handle that type of relationship, or what to even expect from a Dad. Whatever it was/is it is time to set the record straight. This is a man that has made sacrifices for me and regardless of whether I agree with all of his choices he is still an important part of the life I have lived and the life I am living.
My Dad is fighting for his life, and through my prayers I hope that I can help him fight and win his battle with Cancer. If I can give him anything on this birthday it would be a prayer of good health and a long life, continuing to do the things he enjoys. He has worked and struggled hard these last few years. He has sacrificed for me and he sacrificed for my Mom and I finally realize that this was his gift of love to us. I am just sorry it has taken me so long to see that. Happy Birthday Dad, I Love you.
No comments:
Post a Comment