Ever since my father and grandfather passed away in early 1997, Father's Day has been rather sad for my family. Sometimes it has been a day I could easily skip.

This year it's a bit exciting as Clay celebrates his first Father's Day; and my nephew celebrates his second, with Elise being just 13 months old and Maria being just over week old on Father's Day.

          ##  My Dad Was One of the Best ##

No, my dad wasn't perfect, but he was almost there! He was a very sweet and soft spoken fellow who rarely yelled. He was a very fun-loving person(we had jokes and funny stories about my dad mentioned at his funeral and at the house after -wards), and probably would be upset about us being sad. He would get mad once in a while, but he used to just talk to my brother and me and we'd be in tears, but he was very reluctant to fuss and very selective about what he corrected. My mom could correct us over and over, but if daddy said a word, we'd crumble(lol-poor mom). When we went to a smaller church, my dad was retired from Wal-mart(and had worked with Kuhn's Big K , McClellan's -McWhorp, and W.T. Grants, but not in that order)and then in charge of the mission/social concerns (for the needy) until Alzheimer's began to take a toll on him(and us.). I have often thought that I wished I could have loaned(just part of the time) my Dad out to Clay, after reading about all that Clay went through with his dad and stepdad, but my dad would not have gotten to see Clay become so successful on American Idol. They would have been kindred spirits in some ways and daddy would have loved him and would be so proud of him:( but it would have been weird to have a crush on a brother :). ... Happy Father's Day to Clay, to all the fathers and daddies, and to the single parents(male and female) who serve as both mother and father. My heart goes out to those whose fathers or children are no longer here.