I love you Dad!

Let me take a moment to tell you why my dad is my hero. Well, one of the reasons why he is my hero to be more specific. Dad is one of those rare people who truly can do it all. His most recent accomplishment is building a wood splitter for he and I to use on the winter wood. I gave it a try today and it works as well as or better than any other splitter I have ever used.

Dad isn't the first person to build a homemade wood splitter and he certainly won't be the last but I am still as impressed as I can be because I don't think I could have done it. The thing is that building a wood splitter is probably one of the easier things he has done and what I love about Dad is that he won't be satisfied with his design until it is just the way he wants it. Another thing that I love about Dad is that no matter what idea I come up with to improve the design he already has it covered in one way or another. Some people might take that personally but I take it with a sense of awe and admiration because it shows me just how smart the old man is. I've long said that I don't believe there's a thing he can't do and if he plays it off that way it's just because he really doesn't want to do it. I'm onto you Pops.

Thinking about Dad and his abilities is bittersweet for me because I know that someday he won't be there for me and I honestly can't imagine what I am going to do without him here to help me. I was thinking about that today when I was sawing and it was almost too much to take. I had to remind myself that Dad is here and most likely will be for a good many years to come to pull myself out of it. The very possibility of the future reality was enough to choke me up and make me blue.

I try to learn something from Pop every time we get together whether it is tangible knowledge of how things work or just listening to stories from his past. I try to imagine being there and wish with all my being that I was. In fact, I find myself wishing that I could go back in time about 30 years and do it all again, and then do it again and again after that.

I feel much sorrow for those people who don't have that one person in their life any longer whom they wish more than anything could still be here. I feel that way about several people but I am already worrying about what I am going to do when Dad isn't here any more. What I do is push those thoughts to the back of my brain and wish him the best of health so that he may live longer than I do. I know that no parent wants to lose a child but this is one child that doesn't want to lose his Dad. Jesus, can I possibly say it any better than that?