Missing My Dad

My dad passed away seven years ago this week. He and my mom had recently moved to Chattanooga. I was living in Boston when he got sick, but I had already accepted a job here in Nashville. After I moved here that summer, I spent every day I could visiting him and my mom and my sister. I’m so thankful for those precious days with him before he passed.

August was then and is now the busiest time of the year at work. It keeps me from getting too sad remembering Dad. But I’ve been thinking about him a lot this week. I miss his wisdom and his calm optimism when life threw him a challenge. And I miss the delight he took in his kids and grandkids. He only met one of his grandkids, but I’m pretty sure he would have loved them all! He taught me some important things, and I’m a much better man today because of his influence.

I’m not the only one in my family with a blog. My sister Kathryn has a blog, too, and her post today about our dad is really, really sweet. Go read it. Bring a hanky.

That’s my mom and dad in that shot… a few years before they were my mom and dad! Weren’t they a pair? They were in Percy Warner Park right here in Nashville. I’m so glad I live where my parents had such great times together.

I love you, Dad. And I miss you.