When I was a little kid, one of the best things I got to do was crawl into the bed between my Mom and Dad if I’d had a nightmare or was freaking out about bugs being in my bed (oh, the joys of sleeping with me). Most children have the same experience: the supreme safety and coziness of sleeping next to your parents, when no matter what worries or concerns you have about school or friends or siblings, simply waking up with the two people who love you unconditionally makes everything better.
Back then, my parents felt invincible, larger-than-life, and perfect in every single way. Before the light crept in, and before Dad got up to get ready, he would shift and slowly stretch his legs, raising each one up and down, slowly and methodically, working out the cracks and snaps, twisting slightly to stretch every muscle. He would do the same with his arms. Unaware of my observance, he went through this routine before he got going every morning, and it stuck with me. My Dad was doing his part to keep active and fit, and it was a lesson that has stayed with me to this very day.
It’s also something I think of when I see him slowing down, when his body is no longer able to do what it used to do. I want to see him keep going, to push himself to stay active. I write him letters imploring him to walk every day, reminding him that a little discomfort and muscle ache now might lead to a prolonged health and ability to keep moving later on. The way children and parents switch roles is an accepted way of life, and we all go through it in our own manner. I hope I’m doing some justice to the way in which Dad taught me so much.
For his age, he’s in remarkable shape, and there are still those moments when his eyes alight and he looks and engages like he is is his forties again and I’m a little kid, soaking in all his wisdom and heroism.
On this Father’s Day, I honor my Dad and all that he’s done for me, and for our family, for all these years. We get to have a outside visit, in this changed new world, and hopefully spend some more time together in the coming months.
We also remember Andy’s Dad, whose birthday was yesterday, because Father’s Day is about those we have lost too. Good Dads never stop watching over us.
