A Special Day

Today is a special day in life in Durwood's world. It is special for the usual reasons in that it is another day of life and it is a gift from the One who made all things. But this day is special for a very significant reason because it is Dad's 80^th birthday. Both of his parents left this earth before reaching 80 years and that makes this milestone a treasure not to be taken lightly. The fact that Dad is still with us is a rich blessing. "The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." One might say that we live on "borrowed time" once we reach 80 years of life, so I thank the Giver of life for every bit of time that He allows Dad to stay with us. He is doing quite well just a few weeks after the so-called "mini" strokes he experienced recently and for that I am also thankful.

This afternoon Mom has planned a celebration to honor this special birthday. The weather is relatively pleasant for the 25^th of February and that is a blessing as well. There will certainly be many family and friends that will come to help Dad celebrate this special day and to wish him well. There may very well be some who will be there that I've not seen in some time and will enjoy visiting with them on this special occasion.  So today while the sun shines bright, we are going to celebrate this monumental milestone with a very special man. Whatever time may remain for us to be blessed by having this great man in our lives will be considered a precious gift from God. As each day passes, I must remember to be grateful that Dad is still with us and express that gratitude at every available opportunity.

Time With The Kids

Basketball has been a kind of first love in life when it comes to sports and that never really changed but bad knees put an end to my playing days many years ago. When our son came along the dream of spending time with him and teaching him some of the things learned playing on a team that ultimately won the state championship was very exciting to me. But after two years of Tee ball and one year of baseball and Saturday morning basketball, Heath had all the ball playing he wanted. Dream crushed! Tiffany also played two years of Tee ball and she was finished as well.

A couple of years went by and suddenly Tiffany decided she wanted to play Saturday morning basketball. That first year she played basketball, I got to help coach the team and it was a thrill. Her team went undefeated that year and it was a fun experience for her and for me. In the spring she decided to play softball and soon found she could hit a softball as far as anyone her age. She ultimately played three years of basketball and five years of softball. The time that I got to spend with her helping to teach her about basketball and softball left me with memories more precious than fine jewels. It presented opportunity for closeness with her that was otherwise far too rare in our relationship during her first 18 years.

Fortunately during their time at home, I was able to spend time with Heath doing other things besides playing ball. As it turned out, he liked hunting and fishing, though more fishing than hunting, so we got to do some of that together as he was growing up. He also liked camping and the two of us had opportunities to camp and a few times our entire family went on camping trips. The camping trips that he and I made when it was just the two of us were great times that help to cultivate a closeness that was very special to this father. Those were some very enjoyable times and are treasured memories that I look back on with immense pleasure.

During the time the children were growing up the family took several vacation trips along the way. Although we had some really good times on those trips it seemed like there was a lot of time spent fussing about what we were going to do and where we were going to go. Strangely enough, once the children grew up and their mother and I began to take trips with just the two of us, all that fussing went away. I can't recall Lynn and myself having any argument about what we would do when we got to our vacation destination. Because of our ever increasingly cluttered lives, the time we have had to spend together on those vacation trips has actually been some of the most pleasant times we've spent together as long as we have been together. Those are times that I've looked forward to with excited anticipation as the opportunities come around.

Life in my world has rarely taken the path my imagination planned out and the child-rearing experience certainly was no exception. Even so, the relationship that I have with my children in their adult years is pleasant and we see each other often. For that I am thankful. I truly am looking forward to spending time with my little grandson as he grows up and fully expect that there will be things in our relationship that turn out differently from what I've anticipated just as with his Dad and aunt.

A Daughter Is A Gift From God

This morning found me awake in the very early hours before daylight as the apparent result of too much pizza and garlic sauce last night. That hour and a half awake just happened to be about the same time a very special event took place 26 years ago. February 1, 1986 was another time I was awake in the very early morning hours. That was the day God blessed me with the wonderful gift of a daughter! Tiffany came into this world a tiny little bundle of wonder with a cute little round face and instantly captured Daddy's love. She joined father, mother and brother to complete our family of four and began her adventure called life.

Being a concerned father and conscience of the delicacy of a sweet little girl, I'd carefully explained to our 17 month old son, Heath, that he would need to be very careful and easy with his new sister and help to take care of her. Their mother and I spent the next few years doing all we could do to keep that "delicate" little girl from killing her brother. For example, one day when Tiffany was about six months old, we heard bloodcurdling screams coming from the next room and ran around the corner to find our little girl on top of Heath. He could not move or get her off and was screaming his poor little lungs out. So much for protecting her, we found we needed to protect him more so!

As she grew and developed, Tiffany exhibited strength in many ways beyond physical strength. She showed resolve and determination to accomplish things she desired to do and to develop the talents that begin to show brilliantly through as the years flew by. That resolve and determination could often be more along the lines of stubbornness and being strong-willed – traits that have in a lot of ways been an asset for her in the pursuit of a very good college education. But, as her father, there were some special times that I saw when the "little girl" came out in her. They were particularly special to me because those were the times when the daughter that fought against closeness to her father so strongly, needed Daddy and no one else would do. Those were times when she had been deeply hurt by something or someone in her life and Daddy was there ready to comfort and encourage her and tell her things would be alright. Those are times this father will always cherish!

So today I think about the blinding speed with which these last 26 years have flown by and the magnificence of watching my little girl change into the beautiful, talented and successful young woman she is today and thank God for His gift!