Tomorrow is Father's Day

Fathers are so important in our lives. They give us an image of God. My Dad was always there for us. I remember him catching for me in the evenings when I was in fourth grade and aspiring to be the star pitcher. When I think of it, we played with a real baseball and at school girls only played softball so I am not sure why I worked so hard at throwing strikes. I probably just wanted my Dad's attention. I remember being driven to school early with my father and having him hearing my multiplication tables, or my French homework. Sometimes he would recite poetry that he had learned as a boy in school. It was a long drive every morning and every evening but now I realize what an opportunity it was to have that time alone with my Dad. He was the one who I told all that had happened during the day and I had his undivided attention. Later, when my sister and baby brothers would stay home, I often went out to the lake with my Dad and spent the entire day; the war was on and so my Dad had decided to help out by selling lake lots on Sundays. We would go to early Mass and then drive out to the lake and I would spend most of the time in the water. My mother always prepared a picnic for us and sometimes she would come, too, but it was hard to get out early on Sundays with my little brothers. My maternal grandfather and my great aunt and great uncle usually came on Sundays for dinner so she stayed home to cook for them. It is amazing how Father's Day brings back so many memories and how grateful I am that I had a Dad that helped me to know how loving God the Father is...