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Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Broadcaster, musician, song writer, tea drinker and curry lover.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Cherish


Funny. I was going to blog about how there's nothing I wanted to say right now. I had a whole spiel written out on here, mentioning a few things I COULD talk about, but didn't want to. I mentioned some inner struggles I'm having that all Christians experience. I mentioned my rediscovered passion for the music of The Eagles and of Joe Walsh, and I mentioned my late father as today is Father's Day....and that stopped me in my tracks. I realized I DID have something to say today. I guess it's been sort of going through my mind all day so far.
It's pretty simple. Not rocket science. And it's this...cherish your dad while you still have him.

My dad was on only child...just like my mother. he was pretty retiring and shy. Not a man of many words, but still a great dad. Thing is we never really talked in great detail. Never deeply. We shared a lot of common interests; football, a ridiculous sense of humour (also shared by my brother, much to my mother's bewilderment), music - though our tastes were some miles apart, save for a shared appreciation of the writing skills of Lennon & McCartney, and we loved going to watch the planes.

I think some of the best times we ever had were when we'd set off for the day on the train (we both loved trains too) and go to Gatwick or Heathrow and watch airplanes. All day. Even then there wasn't a lot of talk, just the shared experience. Some might think that a terrible way to spend a day together, but it worked for us, so I'll take those experiences, thank you very much. The fact that it's still indelibly inked in my subconscious is a testament to how much it meant to me, and still does.

I lost my father 9 years ago. Too soon, in my opinion. So my message to those of you who still have their dads, on this Father's Day 2013 is to cherish him. Make the most of those times together doing whatever it is you do. Don't waste a moment. Celebrate your father, just like I celebrate the memory of mine now.

As the Italians say, salute.

2 comments:

Barbara said...

Really appreciated that, Steve. Thanks!

Neil said...

Well said Steve. thanks for posting - we can't be reminded often enough to cherish the ones we love.