Happy Father’s Day!
The wild thing about right now is that no matter who you are or where you are reading this, this moment is a time of uncertainty and transition for all of us. So much is different in the world and in each of our communities since the start of 2020!
I was sitting and looking through photos this morning in my apartment and came across these 2 photos taken in the late 1990s, at another time of transition in the world and in our family. We were closing out the millennium, a million think pieces were starting to be published about Y2K, I was getting ready to graduate high school, Molly had died her hair black, and it was one of the last times Pop’s dad, my Grandad, came to visit us in Texas before he passed away in 1998.
The years that followed this particular picture day included a lot of highs and lows, and a steep learning curve for me personally as I entered young adulthood. And I could definitely tell you things that both my Grandad and Dad taught me that helped me navigate that transition. But thinking back on that time, and really, all the years before and since, the thing that has made the biggest difference in my life is that my father and grandfather always made sure I knew that they loved me very much and that I would always belong with them and to them. Unconditional love from fathers doesn’t get as much airtime as it does from other types of caregivers, which may actually mean it’s communicated less often. I’m not sure, but if that’s true, it’s truly a shame, because I really cannot recommend being on the receiving end of this kind of love highly enough. Whatever love I have been able to give and share in this life is because my family loved me first.
It is for this reason among many others that I am so grateful that Pop took the leap this year to get new lungs! The latest update is that his progress in rehab continues apace, and he kicked off today with another good walk outside. Appointments next week include a meeting with the infectious disease team to see if they can finally start to step down the turbo IV-antibiotics Pop has been on to control any recurrence of chest infection.
In the mean time, Happy Father’s Day to all unconditional givers of love and care out there—whatever your official title may be!