The Man

He's not a hard man to crack. He's all heart, incapable of hiding it. I look exactly like him. Even have the same bum as him. The same face, heart and bum. Hmm, makes me laugh when I think of my inheritance. He cries at weddings. Refuses to gossip. On occasion he will dip his toe in it but only the smallest toe. And only for a minute. He is quick to wake up from that unsavory behavior and be annoyed with himself and all who try to entice him. He's quick tempered and quick to cool. He's made instruments, taught himself to play. He was never embarrassed to sing out loud but why should he? He always sounded good. Wonder if he knows that, that he sounded good. I don't hear him sing anymore. Maybe that's because we don't live together. I hope he still sings. He's generous, kind and terribly philosophical. He's a historian. Speaks a handful of languages. He can read Sanskrit. A true renaissance man. He worked a blue collar job to make sure we had everything we needed. I can't imagine what dreams he gave up for us. I"m sure there were more than than a handful put away. Whenever I tell him anything is broken, he'll show up an hour later at my door with his tool set. Not one to procrastinate, no sir. I clearly did not get that from him. Never shirked any of his responsibilities, not a one. He's a good man.

I remember my mother was out of town and he and I attended a wedding reception together. We were chatting with people from our hometown. The evening was lovely. This old man we knew came over and had a catch up. After ten minutes of conversation, he looked at me and said, so it's just sherri who is left to be married, to be set. My dad said, no, she is set. I was so proud. I got to have that moment. We as children, either consciously or sub-consciously are always looking for that recognition from our fathers. That our lives are full, successful, seen and acknowledged. A life time of conversations, arguments, misunderstandings, silent moments, sometimes beautiful, sometimes sour all the while are seen and heard. And accepted for who we are. They are just moments and are enough for me. We need to take notice when they happen and hold them dear.