Dad

We lost Dad back in January, so he’s been fresh on my mind. The farm feels his absence as though something’s not quite right here. He lived his whole life on this land.

Truth be told, Dad wasn’t a business man, but he did his best to run the dairy. Carrying the weight of it left him weathered and worn. Seasoned. Yet he held a deep and abiding faith in God which saw him through the hard times. He spent his life helping people. Didn’t matter if the cows had to be milked, if a person needed a listening ear or someone to pray, he was there for them. Oftentimes he came home late from the barn, having gotten a late start because a friend of a friend called and asked for his help. Dad knew no strangers.

Now my family and I are left facing a year of firsts–first birthday without Dad, first Easter, first summer day, first Thanksgiving and Christmas. Father’s Day without my father. Things seemingly insignificant, like baking the Easter ham and not having him to share the leftovers with–I definitely inherited the baked ham gene from him!

It’s hard to sum up a life, and I won’t even try. No need to, really, because Dad’s wit, wisdom, and stories will continue to find a place in my posts from time to time. Until the next Dad-ism, I will leave you, dear folks, with something my daughter read at his memorial and is the perfect description of him and so many others: “God Made a Farmer” by Paul Harvey. (Note: The Dodge commercial, though an abbreviated version, is very much worth watching.)