Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
That quote was from Mark Twain. It was also read at The Celebration of Life in honour of my father. A 78 year old man stood up and declared this reading as one my dad would have liked, since more often than not dad did what he wanted whether it was frowned upon or not.
Yesterday was what I would call an eye opener of sorts. It’s hard to explain, but even though I knew my dad I really had no clue what he was all about. Yes, he was my dad. He instilled his morals and values on us kids. He was a hard worker, a stubborn cuss and a very stern man when it came to us kids and directing us into the life of adulthood. But that was only one side of him. It was the side that only us kids could see. The other side of him was filled with wanting to explore his dreams and discover everything he could about anything he was able to. It’s hard to picture my father as someone who had dreams, and I’m not being disrespectful either. It’s hard to fathom because he was my father, and I’ll be honest, I never really thought much about my dad actually having a life other than being a father to us kids. My children probably think the same thing about me. Mom has a life other than being a mom? Noooooo that’s just not possible! I have decided that I am going to write a type of journal so that when I am gone and my children hear that I did have a life other than being just a mom, they can read about the other side of me. I’m sure they’ll laugh, gasp and cry out oh my god, mom did that? There again, that will be an eye opener for MY children.
2 comments:
Isn't it amazing what you learn about people when they are gone, things you didn't really see in them, it is so comforting to hear all the things others have to say about them, to learn so much more about them, mainly that they are so much more than your dad, your mother or your friend. It's like seeing them as people other than the title they have...we are all so much more than the labels and titles....why does one have to wait to see that til they are gone? I had the same feelings when I listened to others talk about my dad...saddly that also means we all don't really know each other that well.
It was heart warming for sure to know that my dad had a life beyong being "just" a father, yet in the same sentence it is sad that even at my age I really didn't think about him in that light.
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