In just a few days, Father's Day will be upon us. Some of you never had loving fathers, and some of you have fathers that are still alive that adore you. You may or may not adore them or choose to spend time with them, but it is none of my business what transpires between a father and his children. The only paternal bond I can speak about is that with which I had with my father.
My father passed away at the end of March last year. He had been sick for a while, but for some reason, I had been in denial about my father ever leaving this earth. I was always busy and had other stuff to do. That had happened for years, and my father who always put our happiness above his own did not complain at all. Needless to say, when he passed, I felt tremendous guilt, shock, anger at myself, grief, and other emotions I cannot even put into words. In October of that year, I wrote a sort of musical blog to my father with the song "Dear Daddy"
I remembered all the practical things he did like driving to the bus stop and waiting with me, so I would not have to stand in the rain. When I got into a pickle or could not figure anything out, he was just a phone call away and came promptly to my rescue. He taught me how to play and not take life so seriously. We would pretend stuffed animals were different characters and act out entire scenes, and he took me to parks, played ball with me, taught me to ride a bike, and let me have freedom to be a kid. He gave me confidence. He made sure I knew I was smart and talented. Most of all, I remember the phrase he told me constantly, "Dare to be different!" In my life, I had met men that had given me either confidence, were fun, available for practical help, or just encouraged me to be different, but I had not met anyone that had done all of those like my father had done. That is the message I was trying to convey with my song, "Dear Daddy".
I know that as many girls and women will be spending Father's Day with their dads, I will be spending it with memories that will play through my mind like movies that you do not mind watching over and over again. Although I wish he could have known my sentiments prior to his passing,
"Dear Daddy" is my final Father's Day gift to a man that I will love beyond the day I die.