Yesterday, I was hell-bent on finding something I drew back in the day. I took an art class in college, and I’m no artist. It was a pear and it got a raving review from the teacher and a big, fat “A”. I saved it, came across it recently, and when inspiration struck first thing in the morning, I could not find it.
I did find my 1st grade report card that was a collection of four semesters of straight L’s. As in low. Even in Christian Doctrine for God’s sake. I found my high school journal and yearbooks. I found a print The Big Daddy and I bought ten years ago and surprised him when he came home from work with it framed and hanging on the wall.
Alas, no pear.
In my digging, I found a letter my dad wrote from him and my mom to all of us on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary. The six of us kids pooled our dollars and came up with enough money for them to take a trip to Hawaii that Dad’s company was sponsoring. I remember getting the squeeze from one of my brothers to come up with more cash, I remember the party for them, and I remember them being over the moon about this trip. For once, we got our act together and did something great for them.
These are some of my dad’s words, written 36 years ago…………..
As we said in our invitation, we looked upon it as “the birthday of our family.” It was not something that belonged to the two of us exclusively. Rather, it belonged to the eight of us collectively.
God did not bring the two of us together just solely to please each other. He joined us so that we may serve others……..and in doing so together discover true happiness that comes from trying to live unselfishly with each other’s help.
It takes a lot of years……….one whole lot of years of living……….to even come close to understanding that fact. For us it seems we’re only beginning to learn. After 25 years we’re just emerging from the kindergarten of discovering what life is really about.
He was a great writer, a great dad, a kinder man I have never known. I’ll keep looking for the pear, but in the meantime, the company of my dad by way of letter was a lovely way to spend the morning.
I think it’s what he’d call a discovery.