Among Friends

[PINKdogWOOD]

@ECBG   Oh he knows, indeed he does know that you still have his hand written note.  How wonderful it crossed your path again.  Your loving Dad is thinking about you.  Your story brings tears to my eyes as I think about my very own very loving Dad.

[Sunnyfield]

@ECBG Thank you for this!  I have a letter my dad wrote me about twomonths before he died, telling me how much he loved me and my brother...I have kept it all these years (he died in 1970) - I will definitely check out this website!!

[Catiele]

I have no notes from my father. He wrote but not well. When he was in the seventh grade his schooling was over. His father needed him on the farm. He was the oldest of 13 children. He taught me so many life lessons.  I was his first child at 42 yrs old. I have one brother and we we're blessed to have a father who just wanted to take care of his family.

[Daysdee]

I don't have any notes from my Dad, but I will never forget him.  I was 18 when he passed suddenly and I guess in those days a lot of notes weren't written when you lived in the same house.   

[libbyannE]

A few years after my beloved stepfather was killed in a car accident, I found a letter from him, which I thought I had lost. When I was in college, he wrote a chatty note and then closed with, "... I couldn't love you any more if you were my own child." I knew that and felt the same about him. He was my hero, pure and simple, and had the dashing good looks of Cary Grant. He and my mother were a beautiful couple and wonderful parents. That note is one of my greatest treasures. I was missing him so much--still feel that way-- so finding that note was like getting a message from beyond. 

I also have kept  The handwritten banner that says, "Congratulations, (my name)!" It was taped to the side of a new car that my  stepfather bought for me to congratulate me for getting a coveted newsroom internship one summer during college. I had flown home from college for spring break and my stepfather asked me to go into the garage for something, and I walked out and there was this new car with the banner on it.  I hadn't asked for a car and I wasn't expecting it. Mother said that my stepfather had done it all on his own. Having that banner is a special reminder of the kind of love that we shared. 

[jeanlake]

Beautiful stories. Thank you for sharing. I lost my lovely, smart, kind mother at age 12. She was the heart of our home. Dad suffered from WW 2 PTSD and a tough childhood on his Appalachian mountain farm. He wasn't sunshine and rainbows, but he had a great work ethic and provided for us. I'd like to think I turn around and pass along the best of both of them to my children and grandchildren -- and that helps smooth out some of the harsh times growing up.   

[RetRN]

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@jeanlake wrote:

Beautiful stories. Thank you for sharing. I lost my lovely, smart, kind mother at age 12. She was the heart of our home. Dad suffered from WW 2 PTSD and a tough childhood on his Appalachian mountain farm. He wasn't sunshine and rainbows, but he had a great work ethic and provided for us. I'd like to think I turn around and pass along the best of both of them to my children and grandchildren -- and that helps smooth out some of the harsh times growing up.   

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@jeanlake, what a lovely post.

[Vivian]

My father had a very strong influence on me. His two great passions were politics and sports. I am carrying on the tradition. I'm a news junkie and a work-out nut. Lifelong learning was another of his passions and I continue to study French and read every day. I think Dad would be pleased,

[Moonchilde]

Neither my birth father nor my stepfather were fatherly in any way, and each in their own way did a lot to screw me up. I still wish to this day that my father had been Atticus Finch. 

Those who had wise, loving fathers - you're lucky. I too would treasure those memories, if I had them.