For My Father
You were never much of a hunter. Pheasants, yes. Squirrels and chipmunks, I suppose, when you were younger. But you never came home from a weekend away with a buck in the bed of your truck, because you never had much interest in deer season opener and you owned a sedan. I imagine some people from other places can hardly conceive of a Midwestern man without a shotgun over his mantle, a closet full of blaze-orange jackets, a copy of Field and Stream next to the john. And yet when I think of you, I do see an outdoorsman. I see you paying attention to landscapes, to the clouds. I see you teaching me to love the world.
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The remainder and revised version of this essay will appear in Literary Mama's summer 2014 edition.
Click on over to read the rest.
You were really lucky to have a Dad like this, and he was really lucky to have a daughter like you. I just loved this piece. It speaks volume about family and where you got your love of nature.
ReplyDeleteLovely, as always! And yes, lucky, all of you.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I've read this post several times now, taking breaks in between each reading, hoping the next one will be the one when I can make it all the way through without crying. That hasn't happened yet. Maybe it's meant to be that way. You're generously and unselfishly sharing what you learned from your dad, something intimate between a father and his kids, and I feel so lucky that you're willing to share. Though I wish I remembered such moments with my dad, I think that because I don't, I absorb moments like these and take them into permanence. I feel almost like I have a lot of dads. So, what I really want to say is, thank you for this gift.
ReplyDeleteBill and Robin: I've been lucky in many ways, and yes--I count myself especially blessed to have been given the parents I have. My poppa is a pretty great guy.
ReplyDeleteAnd Suzanne: Your comment brings a big lump to my throat. Thank you for reading, and for being the type of person who feels and wishes and feels and learns and then gives so much of your tender self away.
Beautiful...wonderfully so. What a poignant delight to read. Thanks ever so much...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julian. So glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI love pieces written from the heart, from the bones -- the places where all good writing originates. Thank you for sharing these intimate details of your life. So sweet.
ReplyDeleteLovely! I sure do like this guy, who I've never met. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and leaving such kind comments, ND and Patricia. I've enjoyed perusing your blogs, too. It's nice to know there are so many folks out there focused on the world's goodness and beauty.
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