A Father's Day Wish

"He was the best". I was speaking with a friend who went on to discuss, in glowing terms what he, and everyone else,saw in my dad. It has been more than 35 years since my dad passed away and it amazes me when someone takes a moment to tell me that my dad is still in their memory. Who carries that kind of impact on others? I am now part of a  virtually parentless generation. What are those, situated like me, thinking this morning? Even as we collect our social security and sign up for Medicare, even as we contemplate the last part of our lives, even as we are now the elders in the family, even now, we remain first and forever the children of our parents. My friend was right about my dad. My mind is not today cluttered with question marks and regrets. My sadness is in what might have been and not what should have been. I am far too quirky, far too lazy, filled with far too many questionable traits. When I am gone for 35 years will there be anyone who comes up to my son or daughter to repeat the words I  just heard? My kids always say I would go anywhere and do anything for them but can this be anything but an extension of what came to me? I still see my dad in the third base coaching box waving me home, smile forever etched on his face, the weight of the rest of the world no where evident in his eyes or in his heart. This Father's day, like every Father's day is not a special moment, for  I retrieve the images of my dad far, far more often then I ever would have imagined. The clutter of life and the passage of time have failed to dull the depth of my love for him. I wish for all the children in this world the blessing of a father like mine. I wish for you that your thoughts today are not conflicted, not painful, not tinged with regret or despair. And I hope that someone comes up to you today, or in the tomorrows to come, to tell you that your dad, just like mine, was the best.