Happy Father's Day

All week I've been thinking of what to write for a little Father's Day tribute to include with my ZIA.

Good men make great differences in the world, most especially devoted husbands and fathers.  My own father comes to mind, my brothers, my dear husband, our son-in-laws - men faithful to their commitments, and selfless in their giving.

But what to write?

And this is where the "strange but true" part of the story begins...

On Monday I called a carpet and tile cleaning company to schedule an appointment for service.  The owner, John Gartner, came by yesterday afternoon to give me an estimate.

He was an affable man.  We talked about the floors at first and then the conversation quickly turned to family.  The pictures of our seven children on the staircase wall are hard to miss when you enter our house and as it turns out, John is one of eight children and his wife is one of ten.  We had much in common.

While big families are not for everyone and clearly not the norm today- for those of us fortunate to have grown up in one, or have one of our own,  most often they make of men the best of fathers.

When you consider that virtues are learned behaviors that increase with practice -  imagine all the practice an already good man gets as a result of raising a passel of children - his virtue grows exponentially!

Just before John left he placed a company brochure on the kitchen counter along with his monthly newsletter "fresh from the printer".

I put both aside and went off to run errands with my daughters.

Last night, as I was "redding up" the kitchen, I picked up John's newsletter.  Out slipped a piece of yellow copy paper with the title "June is Father's Day and I've Been Thinking..."

And here is "the strange but true" part of my story.  The wise words for Father's Day that I was searching for came from the floor care company's newsletter written by John.

This is his how his article begins ~

Whether you're a son or daughter: There is nothing like something that's just between you and your Dad. I read somewhere that Dad is a daughter's first love and a son's first hero. It could be watching him fix something and learning how to improvise, a father/daughter dance or going fishing, or riding bike, or walking the dog together, watching the ball game or just talking and laughing, etc. As a dad sometimes it's easy to forget what seems minor to an adult can be monumental to a child. Who would imagine that a memory of seeing and learning something kind and generous from your dad could lead you to patience and understanding of our own children. Precious memories between Dad and child are made in an instant and last forever. Sometimes it's the little things that dads say or do that matter the most...

John then lists four major lessons he learned from his dad.  Here is a recap ~

Don't micro manage.
Life should be touched, not strangled.
Sometimes you just need to let life happen without worry, to let go a little before you squeeze too tight.
Take the next step forward.  You don't have to know exactly where you are headed every second. Everything is in perfect order whether you understand it yet or not.  Sometimes it just takes time to connect the dots. 

Don't be lazy and wishy-washy.The world doesn't owe you anything, you owe the world something.  Help make the world a better place by the time you leave than it was when you arrived and take full responsibility for your life.  You are important and you are needed.  It is not good to sit around waiting for someone else to do something someday.  The someday is upon us and the somebody the world needs just happens to be you.

Don't give up when the going gets tough.There are no failures, just results.
Learn what you can and move on.
The one who continues ahead one step at a time no matter how small the steps will win in the end. 

Letting go.If you want to know your past actions look at your present conditions.
If you want to look at your future, look at your present actions.
You must continually ask yourself three questions:  
     Where am I now?    
     Where do I want to go?
     How am I going to get there?

John closed his article with this thought:

Dads help us do our absolute best and teach us that setbacks are just opportunities to rethink our position.
Just because a dad doesn't show his emotions all the time doesn't mean he isn't full of feelings.
Dads are made up of courage, optimism, encouragement, inspiration, a poker face and a lot of hope and prayer.
His love for his children is unconditional whether he can express it or not.
...Dads love to hear, loud and clear: "I love you Dad!"

Thank you to John Gartner at Major Floor Care for your timely article.

Happy Father's Day to all fathers you hold dear.

Have a wonderful weekend!