I am not a person who has many regrets, if any.  Regret is like a poison that can darken your heart if you let it creep in.  I believe things happen in life for a reason, and although we often don’t understand for years to come, it is a part of what shapes us into who we are and what we do.  Blind faith if you will.

Yet today, I do find myself thinking if only.  You see, it is Father’s Day and I am missing my dad more than I have in recent years.  Time definitely heals, but I always miss him. Every day, at every event, at every birthday, at every sunset on the beach, and at every sunrise in the mountains.

If only…

I could see him today, walking through the woods, fly rod in one hand hiking up in his waders.

If only… I could hear his wise words and sweet laughter.

If only…I could hold his dark hand, oh how as a little girl in church I always loved playing with his callused and strong hands.

If only…I could see him with the grandchildren he never met and the joy and love they would bring him.

If only…I had one more chance to have him over for dinner tonight, share one more song, one more dance.

If only.

But each moment that passes in time is never to be recovered, and I am not regretting.  Instead I celebrate a life well lived and a dad who gave meaning to the word hero, teacher, friend, unconditional love.  Because of him, I celebrate the dad that my husband is to our children, and the memories we are building.

We are all dealt from the same deck of cards;  joy, sorrow, hope, despair, laughter, loss,  heartache,  optimism, choice of attitude.  How you play them is up to you.

Because of my dad, I find true meaning in the words I write with every blog, enjoy the best of food and life.  So here is to all the dads we remember, those with us now, and those yet to be.  Like a cookie cutter you shape our lives.

“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.  And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.  And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”  K.G., The Prophet