Father's Day

Today has been a day of mixed emotions. We heard a lot of wonderful messages in church about fathers and their role in our mortal lives on earth as well as the eternal nature of family. Today, June 21st, 2009, is the first time in my life that I've been able to celebrate Father's Day as a father myself. Strangely, it is also my first Father's Day without my Dad. Last year on Father's Day, Suzanna and I had recently found out the gender of our unborn baby, and we were both very excited over the idea of having a little boy in our family. I am still a little shocked over the very unexpected events of the last five and a half weeks.





Here is the last picture (I believe) that I have with Dad. It was taken at my graduation on Friday, April 24th, just three days before we left for Texas. The whole family was together on Mother's Day in May except for us, and we were sad that we couldn't have been there, especially after Dad passed away the next Friday, but Suzanna, Luke, and I had almost an entire week to spend with him and Mom as I graduated and we cleaned our apartment and packed in preparation for the move to Texas. We had a lot of fun that week, and I'm glad that we made a lot of good memories. I'm grateful that his health was so good for the last few months and that there weren't any more hospital stays for him.




I love this picture; my dad and son together the day Luke was born. I've thought a lot about both of them and our relationships today as we honor our fathers. I am very grateful for both of them because they have both had a profound influence in my life, and I am very thankful for the sealing power of the Priesthood which allows us to be a family for eternity.


Since I can't call Dad today to wish him a happy Father's Day and express my love to him, I thought I'd post these pictures and express my appreciation to him through the blog. I think about him often, as so many every-day things remind me of him. I hope that I can be a dad to Luke like my Dad was to me. I always felt comfortable around him, and I will always cherish the countless memories I have of him. I know we'll see him again someday, and that day will be relatively soon when considering the 'big picture.'


Dad, I miss you a lot already, but I know you are well and happy where you are. I love you! Happy Father's Day!