Reece Gardner: Happy Father's Day!

Some things bear repeating, or at least expanding on, and that's what I am doing today. We recently celebrated Mother's Day, and now Father's Day is coming up on June 19. I want to look at this Day both from the perspective of a son as well of a dad. I was blessed to have a really great dad who was also one of my very best friends. There is a poem that I ran across that could have come directly from him, and I want to share it with you: "Life is but a stopping place, a pause in what's to be, a resting place along the road to sweet eternity; We all have different journeys, different paths along the way, we all are meant to learn some things, but never meant to stay; Our destination is a place, far greater than we know, for some the journey's fleeting, for some the journey's slow; And when the journey finally ends, we'll claim a great reward, and find an everlasting peace, together with our Lord."

Dad put it in different words but that was his message. I have also been greatly blessed as a Dad, for 3 wonderful children and for a wonderful wife to share them with. I keep the Father's Day cards they send me each year that are more beautiful to me than words can describe. As on Mother's Day I wrote about what great Mothers My Jessica, Lisa, and Christie are, I can now on Father's Day write about what great Dads my Reece and Bob are, and about what a great Dad my Son Jason, who was suddenly taken from us on November 14, 2014, was. His daughter, Little Emma, who was not quite 3 years of age at the time of his passing, with the help of her mother, wrote these words to him: "Walk along beside me, Daddy, and hold my little hand; I have so many things to learn that I don't understand; Teach me things to keep me safe from dangers every day; Show me how to do my best at home, at work, at play; Every child needs a gentle hand to guide them as they grow; So walk along beside me, Daddy, I have a long way to go. I love you."

Also, Father's Day helps me recall what a wonderful wife and mother my Emma was, and though she is now in Heaven, she is with me every day. Here is a poem I have used before but which could very well be My Emma's message to me on Father's Day: "I see you on days when you're lonely, or wishing we could talk for a while; Even though I am now in Heaven, I still want to see you smile; I visit at night when you're sleeping, I appear quietly into your dreams, and whisper words so softly, to say death is not what it seems; I see you sometimes at the table, when you don't know that I'm there, and as you gaze at my picture, I hope you know how much I care; So I'm sending a hug from Heaven, I want you to feel it today, the love that we share is FOREVER, time and space can't take it away."

IT IS ALL ABOUT LOVE!

Now to close on a humorous note:

An arrogant rich man passed away one day. In his Will he entrusted $100,000 in cash to each of his closest advisors - his accountant, his doctor, and his lawyer. He instructed that each of them was to put all of the money in an envelope and place it into his coffin at his funeral, so that he would have his money, even after his death.

On the day of the funeral, each of his advisors came with a large envelope and each, in turn, placed it into the wealthy man's open casket. At the end of the funeral, when the man was buried, each of the advisors walked away from the cemetery together.

The accountant said to the other two, "I must confess, I didn't put all of the money in. I kept $20,000 for myself and only put in $80,000." The doctor responded, "I should be honest too. I kept $30,000 for myself and only put in $70.000." The lawyer looked at the other two with disdain and said, "I'm ashamed of both of you. Our client instructed us to put $100,000 each into his casket, and I'll have you know I put a check in for the full amount!" Have a GREAT day!