Seems I struck a cord with myself in the previous post. After a conversation with a bearded badass regarding the last post got me thinking a bit more in depth. Then I heard this lyric and something shifted in my mind.

As we grow we look towards our elders for many things. Our parents we look for how to live life and pattern ourselves to a large degree, at least early on, on who we will become. This of course is in a perfect situation there are others where the people one looks to for support and an image of what to strive for is corrupt and the opposite is what is required for a healthy life (children with addict parents for example). I look to my father for most of my life as an example of what a good man could be. This was later augmented by others that I found to be worth my attention, containing attributes and qualities that I found worthwhile and strive towards being a better man. But at the core of it all was my father.

Now in a healthy child’s life it is hoped and assumed that they will surpass their parents in life goals and achievements. Any healthy parent will want this of their children and I was blessed enough to do some remarkable things in life so far. I surpassed my father in education, in career aspects and working in an advanced field rather than manual labor. I pushed to open a business of my own that is getting off the ground, another dream he had growing up, that I will make a reality. In a lot of ways he looks to me for guidance and knowledge in aspects of life he isn’t as well versed. His only real complaints about my life is my inability to obtain a pilots license and that I don’t follow his religion. These is all things that I expected and grew into, but physical strength wasn’t one of those in which I was ready to surpass my father in.

Thinking back to that day I don’t think he realized what he had said would strike me as it did. He was working on a task that I was better equipped to handle at the time. He didn’t think two bits about it and moved on to a task he could manage. That is the sort of man he is, keeping things simple and moving towards a solution. Something I strive towards in life as well.

The following thoughts grew from the previous post and are mostly about his impending mortality. I know that I am going to lose him one day and each day grows closer to that dreadful moment. Before that event is to pass I want to ensure he knows just what all I’ve done because of his simple presence in my life. The lives I have touched and improved because he showed me how and why. The simple awesomeness that he is and will be remembered for. I just hope I can find the courage to tell him half as much before I’ll be talking to a tombstone rather than the man who showed me who I should (and shouldn’t ) be.