Father's Day, 2014

Father's Day, 2014...hmmm...where are the words?
Truth be told, there are plenty of words available for the man that I call "Daddy!"  I could comb through 8,100 pages of past and easily find ones dedicated to him...but that just doesn't seem right...doesn't seem "fair."
That man who knew every answer and how to fix everything...that indestructible man that helped raise me...the one who never got tired, this Father's Day he is very fragile and very tired.  And it hurts.
That which I vowed to do years ago, that which my wife set her heart on as soon as she met them, my brother and his wife are having the honor of doing, and I must love them from a distance.

Too many miles find themselves
between me and that man!
To be this far from dad and mom
was never in the plan!
To love them from a distance
is painful and so real!
And more than verses finding life-
they're words and lines that "feel!"

Can 'honor' be detected in words
written far away?
Can 'respect' be known in full
if I'm not "there" to say?
Can 'admiration' be recorded
and received afar?
"Daddy, all of this plus 'love'
is what, to me, you are!

I always thought that mere 'excuses'
keep loved ones apart,
but now that I am not as young
I can see the heart!
I want to be there of a truth
to celebrate this day,
but once more, dad, reality
is keeping us away."

All of you who can be with your dads this Father's Day, thank God for it, be there and enjoy them, and never, EVER take them for granted!