But if you try sometimes, well, you might find...

Dad: Thank you for rolling the windows down and turning the music up. Thank you for the mottos to live by: "work first, play after," "say sorry first", "love myself first," "prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance," and "those that care will be there." Thank you for bringing me to church outside under a starlit sky. Thank you for never gossiping. Thank you for the art of list-making. Thank you for putting me in your pocket. Thank you for coming to London when I was so very homesick. Thank you for showing me how to be comfortable with letting it all hang out. Thank you for making life so story worthy!

Pop Pop: Thank you for teaching me the superpowers of working outdoors, flying a kite, and loving a sibling.

Grandpip: Thank you for sharing your love of early mornings, birds, winter, and eggos, and for modeling how quiet strength can demand the greatest respect.

Great Uncle Steve: Thank you for telling me to go to New York. Thank you for showing me that we can belly laugh through a funeral, even the saddest ones.

Great Uncle John: Thank you for the mannerisms of a lost time, and reminding me that it's the simple things that make life so sweet: a hand-written note, a quick visit, a laugh, an embrace, a memory.

Uncle Chris: Thank you for your kind, easy-going, capable love. Thank you for your steady, strong, open heart.

Uncle Dave: Thank you for sensitive, kind, and creative spirit.

Dr. Bicknell: Thank you for being there--a life boat in the stormiest seas.

Mr. TA: Thank you for your quiet soul, wise concern, and literary spark.

Mr. Walsh (aka Pa): Thank you for calling me "dearheart."

Professor Wilson: thank you for showing me the magic of a camera obscura and teaching me that people are like trees.

Jeff Smith: thank you for being the safety net underneath my trapeze rope.

Today, as we honor the father figures in our lives, I am reminded of a conversation I had with someone close to me when she bestowed on me a great nugget of wisdom. We were discussing her estranged relationship with her father. Saddened by the thought of not speaking to my father, or my children not knowing their grandfather, I asked her: "Do you miss him?" She replied that she finds peace in the paternal love she receives and witnesses everywhere else: from her grandfather, stepfather, and father-in-law, in watching her husband father their children, and her brother-in-law father her niece and nephew. I was floored. What a beautiful, undeniable truth. I immediately thought of the Rolling Stones lyric:

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find.
You get what you need

As I think about my friend, who is estranged from her father, and Roo, whose father passed away when he was fourteen, and all the others who are missing their fathers today, or wondering why their dads didn't show up for them they way they hoped, I'm inspired to honor my dad and all the other sources of fatherly love in my life.

As always, thank you for reading,
Georgia

TWO THINGS TO NOTE:

1) SUMMER SCHEDULE STARTS TOMORROW JUNE 21! CAKE MWF @ 730AM EST and BLY TH @ 8AM EST

2) At our next Blue Light Book Club we will be discussing The Body is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor on Wed June 30 @ 630pm EST. Katie Henry, fellow voracious reader and owner of my favorite local shop Labor in Vain, is co-leading the discussion with me!