Celebrating Father's Day

As the weekend approaches I realize that Father's Day can be a challenging day for many people. (Mother's Day too)  A few years ago I saw Kelly Clarkson(the first American Idol winner) sing a song on "American Idol" called "Piece By Piece." (lyrics below) It's about her relationship with her absentee Dad and how he compares with her husband, the father of their child.

Father's Day is a day that many of us think about our Dads and spend time with him.  However, for other people it's a challenge because they didn't or don't have a good relationship with their Dad or good memories that other people have.

Some good memories of a Dad could be considered trivial such as:

Learning from your Dad to put blueberries in your sour cream,
Or, enjoying a great sports section in The New York Post, because your Dad brought it home every night
Or, having your Dad drive you to your little league game immediately after arriving home from a vacation in Lake Placid, NY when he drove all day,
Or, going with your Dad to the Exxon station to get a map for a vacation in Florida.

Some of the more important good memories of your Dad might be:

Him taking you to a baseball game every year and you get to pick the game.
Or, watching him work hard every day to support his family,
Or, taking care of his finances in such a way that he's in good shape for the rest of his life,
Or, admiring him taking care of your Mom in good times and bad.

Of course I'm talking about my memories of my Dad.  I hope that I can be as good of an example for my son as my Dad has been for me.

Love you Dad-Happy Father's Day.




"Piece By Piece"

And all I remember is your back
Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past
I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you
Begged to yo want me, but you didn't want to

But piece by piece, he collected me up
Off the ground where you abandoned things and
Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me
Six years old and you know                                                           CHORUS
He never walks away
He never asks for money
He takes care of me
Piece by piece, he restored my faith
That a man can be kind and Father could, stay

And all of your words fall flat
I made something of myself and now you wanna come back
But your love, it isn't free, it has to be earned
Back then I didn't have anything you needed so I was worthless

REPEAT CHORUS

Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece

Piece by piece I fell far from the tree
I will never leave her like you left me
And she will never have to wonder her worth
Because unlike you I’m going to put her first and you know
He’ll never walk away,
He’ll never break her heart
He’ll take care of things, he’ll love her
Piece by piece, he restored my faith
That a man can be kind and the Father should be great

Piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece