On this Father’s Day, John and I are joyful. We have three healthy children and three amazing grandchildren. We have enjoyed living in Chicago, Des Moines, Iowa and Westlake Village, California. But when our youngest, our son, moved to that part of Chicago where we were raised, where we fell in love, we moved back. Time to again be with old friends, to walk the streets we walked as teenagers, and to be near our son Andrew and his wife Amy as they build their live together.
Fathers are important. Many of you know my story…that I lost mine when I was three. But a strong and amazing mother gave me and my brothers what we needed to grow and thrive. If you have lost a father or a mother, you still carry and will aways carry with you his story, her story, the pictures and the shadows of their lives.
And because of DNA, our parents are always a part of us. For me, drawn to medicine, always reading about human physiology (father), and for me who loves music and singing (mother), I now know and understand inheritance, parental connections. Such knowledge can offer comfort, an understanding of what we might have inherited and how we might benefit from that inheritance. I love stories about my father’s kindness, his love, sense of humor, gentleness.
And when my mother told me those very father stories, I must have subconsciously looked for those same qualities in a spouse, because I definitely found them in John, my husband. He loves humor…my father did. He is loyal, loves his family…my father again.
Family connecting is a powerful thing…it reaches out, helps us fulfill our needs for love, constancy. Holding close the positive decisions we have made in our lives helps us continue on, to say YES when everything in our hearts, our very core is telling us…this is a good decision, this will benefit those you love.
John and I have been blessed with three amazing children, our two daughters and our son. And we do find traces of us in them; but when they love different art or music, we listen, learn. We find echoes in the paths of life they have taken…but they are quick to remind us that they are their own people…and rightly so. John and I always yearned to be parents, and for a time worried it would never happen… and then it did!
And so for this post on this Father’s Day…John found a wonderful photo of Caroline, our first child…who we called Carrie. I added favorites of Christie and Andrew, and all three.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, JOHN HAPPY GRANDFATHER’S DAY!! WE ALL LOVE YOU!
12 Responses
Happy Father’s Day, John!
–Ray West
RAY RAY, I MISS YOU. I think of you more than you know. Beverly is all about memories.
That can be good, and it can be, well, boring, too quiet! Please let me know how you are doing, Beth
How wonderful! I always read but don’t always comment but Beth this piece was extraordinary. Not only speaks of family but also the kind on friends you and John are, people who care. I hope we get to see you in Des Moines soon.
Joe, I MISS DES MOINES. I miss my life there. California was great, but then Covid and
life here seems smaller. We do need to make a trip. My love forever to you and Jen, Beth
John is a wonderful father, husband, brother, and friend. Being Beth’s younger brother, I met John at an early age and learned many things from him, from touch football to hanging screens on the windows of our home on the south side of Chicago. But know one thing, John is always there for his family, friends, and those he loves. Which truly is the best lesson anyone can learn from another….
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY John…..with love, Bill
Thanks, Bill. I have always been blessed with the men in my life…you, John Pf and John H. Maybe Dad planned
it that way. So thanks, to you and to Dad.
It’s such a gift to have a close, loving family, and one that keeps growing! You have been blessed indeed and you know it, which is lovely.
Thanks, Laurie. I have. Health, love, grandchildren. The reminder is very welcome, Beth
To come from strong family ties and to be able to grow your own equally strong ties is, I think, the greatest blessing of all.
One that continues into your children’s and then grandchildren’s lives.
Like a light that shines down through the generations!
Thank you for sharing your family with us on this special day, Beth!
Thanks, Diane. I so admire you, your family. I would say we are both blessed, Beth
Happy belated Father’s Day, John! Elizabeth, you are so right about those family connections, even when you lose one or both parents young. My Dad nearly died from pneumonia (they didn’t know for the first three days in the hospital if he was going to make it) when I was 10 and my Mom passed away suddenly when I was 12. So I don’t know everything about my Mom but enough to see her in me – and my Dad, also. I see a lot of my Dad in my son, especially his being good with his hands and his restlessness, some things he definitely didn’t get from me. And we both know what it’s like to be a child and have one parent who becomes both Mom and Dad. I have nothing but the greatest respect for single parents.
Ah Alana, a similar story. I think we learn to adjust, and as we grow, we become responsible adults. My younger brother
has always thanked me for being “another mother” to him. The three of us have always been very close. Thanks for your comments.