I am not sure if it’s just my imagination, if it’s what I have manifested, or if there were just a lot of fathers out at the park today with their children.  At one point I counted five different fathers with at least two kids each and the kids ranged from 3 -10 years old.  So I have learned when something like this happens…… I stop, breathe, and see what why this is happening and what is the message….so I did. 

Yesterday I had lunch with my father. He just turned 88 years old and we had lunch at one of the three restaurants that are close enough to his house that he can drive to and he is comfortable with.  We started this ritual about 5 or 6 years ago when his eye sight deteriorated to a point where he does not drive much out of his surrounding neighborhood.  My relationship with my father over the years has been all over the map.  I am the oldest son out of three boys and as my brothers will tell you, I cut a pretty big path through the forest of childhood with Dad.  We have knocked heads and disagreed with about everything two people could disagree on.  I blamed everything that went wrong in my life at one point or another on my Dad.  He has been the source of a tremendous amount of emotional work that I have done and it has only been in the last few years that I have started to allow myself to see any good qualities in him.  So what does this have to do with the kids in the park? Good question…..

Yesterday I told my dad that I loved him and that I was so grateful for all that he had done for me as a father.  I shared with him that I was grateful for the many trips he took me hunting or traveling and all the times he put me on his back and walked me across the swamps so I could experience duck hunting.  I remember when I was small, I would snuggle on the couch with him as we watched TV.  He shared with me that more than once he watched my brothers and I check out the presents under the Christmas tree in the middle of the night to make sure Santa had come………. he never said a peep, he just watched us and loved us from afar.  This was my Dad and he loved me with everything he had and he still does…..even though it doesn’t look like what I wanted it to sometimes.  So what I saw in the park was what was in my heart……..fathers and sons loving each other in a powerful, nurturing way……..so Happy Holidays and remember the greatest gifts are not always under the Christmas tree………they are sometimes right under our nose. I love you Dad.