What My Father Taught Me

Recently, we had to clean up my dad's video game collection. Hundreds of games. Games we bought with him. Games we promised to play with him. Games he wanted to play while he retired. 

Each one feels like a kick in the gut. There is no way any one person could play all those games in any life time, forget one whose life was cut short like his. (mind you, he did play a lot of them!)

My dad always lived with the motto, "I'll do it next month." His months ran out and it was still close to his last words.

And so, it leaves us struggling with this-- It's not fair he never got to do these things he dreamed of doing. 

Yet...  he was happy putting these things off to sit and play a game with us. Always, he was happy to come visit us. Always happy.

So... this means...

Anything that can be put off until next month isn't important enough to this moment, which means something else is more important. Take a look around, what could possibly be more important?

I like the idea of putting off the things that can wait until tomorrow so I can be happy today curled up on the couch, playing a game with my family.

It's a nice lesson. 

I miss my dad terribly but I have a lot of wonderful and caring father figures still in my life to play games with and he taught me how important they are to me. 

Happy Father's Day 
to all the wonderful dads in my life, 
thank you for putting off things to spend time with us.

What memory do you have of your father that you feel like sharing today?