that thinking thing

On the way to work this morning, I got to thinking. I do that sometimes. Not too much but occasionally.

Anyway, being Mother’s Day this weekend and all, I got to thinking about Father’s Day. I know. I’m weird. But not really. I mean, I was thinking about how I’ve only got one living parent left. ONE! Lord only knows how many years until that changes. Although Mom has agreed to hang out for at least 5, 10 more years (I’d have to read the commentary to get the exact number), neither of us have gotten buy-in from “the big guy” on this. There are never guarantees on these sorts…EVER!

I got to thinking about how challenging it used to be — to keep all of the folks happy on these key holidays (especially on Father’s Day). Make sure the kids spoil their dad — but give him space. Find time to visit my dad, as well as my stepdad (who did the majority of our upbringing). Then there was the paternal grandparent to attend to as well. Keeping everyone happy was next to impossible with only the 2-day weekend.

But all of that has changed. This coming Father’s day, I’ll have none of that. It’s pretty sad, and even sadder to think that it has been this way for my boys for the past 5 years. I want to ask if we can just cross the day off of the calendar – so that we don’t need to think about it. *sigh*

And my point in sharing this?

If you are lucky enough to have one or more living parents, this is my way of urging you to be sure to appreciate them and all that they are. I don’t think we ever know the pain, suffering, and sacrifice that they have undergone on our behalf. Nor do we ever know just how much love they have for us. But we can be sure that they have an idea of how much we love and appreciate them.

I’m just sayin’ — because I was doing that thinking thing again you know.