Dad

 We have had a week full of reminders of the meaning of father or dad.  Some of the lessons this week have not been pleasant.  They are reminders of the physical loss of a father-figure, sorting through feelings of emotional voids, lessons on respect of differing opinions, and understanding our respective roles in the ever-progressing stages of life.  It is an emotional week - one that will hopefully contribute well to the development of individual family members and to the overall make-up of our family in the long run.  First, we have to get through this week.

In an effort to do something a little productive this morning, I embarked on the post-tax day cleaning of my office.  I have a lot of bad habits, just like everyone.  The cleaning of my office helped to deal with my bad habits of disorganization, bad filing, and cryptic notes left everywhere.  I have electronic notes of all sorts, notebooks, journals, and post-its.  The cleaning gave me a little control over just one aspect of my life this week.

The clean-out worked.  I have a bag full of shredding to do and fewer notebooks.  I have a nice clean work space while not threatening my creature comforts.  One of my worst habits however, is making notes about what I want to write and then I walk away from the notes and the piece is never written as is evidenced by the 5 month lag on this page.  The sad thing is, some of the notes are no longer meaningful to me and I wrote them.  There are many however to be tackled in the coming weeks.  Stay-tuned.

Now finally, the inspiration that was found in this morning's exercise.  I found this list, with no heading.  No explanation, just a list.  It is so ironic it was found this week.  I needed this, as do others in my family but I think it is too soon for them. The note will serve as inspiration to write and document and move the thoughts from the 2x3 tablet on my desk.  I will write it as it is, with no explanation.  No explanation is needed, but I wonder how it would have been written if done prior to this week. This week calls for the simplicity of the list.

He taught me:

• When to be quiet
• Patience
• Love of family
• Belief in God
• How to accept death as part of the journey of life
• Kindness
• Empathy
• Loyalty
• To laugh
• Humility
• Meaning of the song, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
• The effectiveness of well-placed words
• The beauty of simplicity
• What it means just to be yourself
• Quiet humor
• To do the right thing when it is time to do it whether it is easy or hard to do it