Two years and a month ago I wasn’t sure how many more Fathers days I would have with my dad.
I have fought through many tears in my life and even had to lay to rest some of the greatest people I know, but hearing my mom tell me that my dad had cancer was the worst of all.
I will never forget that day. It was as if everything had stopped moving. I remember standing in my apartment and suddenly feeling numb while a single tear ran down my cheek that was later followed by many more.
I had known something was wrong and they were running test on him but I had never imagined hearing my mom tell me that he had an inoperable tumor. I would have given anything to be home right then and there.
That weekend was the first weekend in a while that myself, my boyfriend, my brother’s family, and my sister’s family had been home all at the same time.
I remember that weekend with such precision. It was as if nothing bad had just ripped through us, we laughed and joked around as our usual selves and even had our traditional memorial day weekend hot dog and s’mores roast over the fire pit with my grandparents. After a few days we all had to go back to work and our lives as my father and mother embarked on his journey to fight his cancer and boy did he fight hard for the next year.
It was a year later in April that I was sitting in my classroom during student teaching and I received a text from my dad. My dad didn’t text much at the time, so imagine my surprise and joy when I read the words; “I am cancer free.” It was as if I could breathe again. I don’t know that there could ever be a happier moment for me. I finally had my dad back.
This weekend is fathers day and I am so happy that I will get to celebrate this day for many more years with my father. He has taught me so much in life.
He was the one who taught me how to ride a horse, how to show a cow, how to ride a bicycle, how to drive a tractor and 4-wheeler. He was the one who taught me how to rake hay and then for every summer after that had me help me in the fields. He taught me how to be strong and how to stand on my own two feet. He taught me so many things in life but more importantly he taught me how to be a good person and know right from wrong and when to admit that I’m wrong and stand for what I believe when I feel I am right. He had a lot of help from my mom in making me the lady I am today and I’m thankful for both of them.
Happy Fathers Day to all of the great Fathers out there.
Barn Adventures 