Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Sunday, June 17, 2012

To All the Fathers in My Life


To my Dad, My Husby, My Sons and SILs.
I love you!

My Dad and me
It starts out with a snuffle – a voice he's never heard before,
And suddenly, he's a Father and there's a whole new world in store.
The time goes by, he's changed a thousand diapers, maybe more,
His hair's grown grey along the sides, his back is bent and sore,
He knows feeding, changing – is expert on most everything that's sold,
Imagine how much more he'll know when his child is two days old . . .

The years fly past, his baby's reached the great old age of three,
That wondrous time when head and hands reach just above the knee,
The scars have healed from babe's first tooth, the child can even talk,
The tiny hard hat's put away – his little one can walk.
The child is toilet-trained, survived each illness, scratch and sore,
Dad knows it all, good thing because his wife just had two more.

His babes grow tall - or he grows small – there's a definite shift in size,
He's not as smart as he once was, through his adolescent's eyes.
He's older now and he can see both sides of any fight,
But it matters not 'cause like his child, he knows that he is right.
And as he watches, painfully, the sometimes good and bad,
There's one thing that will never change - the fact that he's their dad.

And so it goes, he does his best, survives on little sleep,
He goes to work each day, comes home and tends his growing sheep.
There is little recognition for the work he does each day,
A baby hug, a chocolate kiss may be his only pay.
But he strangles his impatience as he watches tiny hands,
And he gently speaks when teenage heads just do not understand
His prods and pushes – anger, too, he tempers, 'cause he cares,
His one reward, his children's love, he treasures through the years.

14 comments:

  1. I'll post a better comment when I stop crying...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diane this is so beautiful. You've got an old lady wiping her eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tribute! And isn't that the way it goes? I thought Dad was my hero and smarter than anyone, then I wondered what happened to him. And now I seek his counsel and wisdom. And some time (much) later I'll be asking myself: "How would Dad have done this?"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erik spoke in Church today and he talked about Mark Twain's saying that when he was 14, his dad was an idiot. Then when he was 21, he was amazed how much his dad had learned in only seven years. I don't look forward to the 'What would Dad have done' years.

      Delete
  4. This was beautiful Diane, so incredibly sweet:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Launna! :) It was written when our third was born. I think . . .

      Delete
  5. Diane--This is so beautiful. What a wonderful tribute to Dads everywhere. This is too great not to share. NOBH is blessed by this post!
    Love and God Bless,
    Christy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Christy! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'm blessed by my association with NOBH and all of the wonderful people I've met there. You're one of them! Blessings to you as well!

      Delete

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