Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day

"Fathers hold their childrens' hands for just a little while . . . and their hearts forever." - Celtic Proverb.

I gave that quote to my dad, beautifully framed, on handmade paper, on our last Christmas together. It was always difficult for me to say anything mushy to my Dad. I'm a guy, expressing emotions off the page isn't easy (it's not easy on the page either, but I can endure the pain of the process when I'm alone). I'm so grateful to the person who first spoke those words, and the one who painted and framed them, so that I could share my feeling with my father, without actually having to say anything. But now that he's gone, 7 years this Canada Day, I wish I'd said more, or sometimes less, I just wish I'd always chosen all my own words with the same care I took in choosing that framed quote.

Thank you for everything, Dad. For all the you gave, and are still giving, me.

Happy Father's Day.
Posted by at
Labels:

2 comments:

  1. AlistairJune 21, 2010 at 4:41 AM

    Hullo Colin,

    Lovely quote and a nice sentiment that rings true for me too as the second Father's day without him around passes.

    Dads death was one catalyst for starting the blog - just over a year ago.

    I had the chance, while supporting his last couple of years, to have all the conversations about how we felt and what was happening. That was very cathartic too.

    Some things I didn't know took me on a journey back in time to understand what had happened to him during WWII and make connections back to his fathers experience in WWI.

    Through it all, writing helps. Although it's new to me in real terms, I think he would have approved.

    Thanks for making me stop and reflect a moment.

    regards....Al.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Colin FrizzellJune 21, 2010 at 6:28 PM

    Hi Al,

    Thank you for commenting. And I'm sorry for your loss, so good that you got to spend time with him those last couple of years. As my Irish cousin recently said to me, "You have to enjoy them [your parents] while they're with you because they're a long time gone." And you never stop missing them when they are.
    I, too, find that the writing helps, makes me feel like he's not so far away.

    Thanks again and all the best with your blogging.

    - Colin.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)