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When it comes to dads, I have been doubly blessed.
First, there is the Dad I had but never appreciated until it was too late. I wish I could wish him a happy Father’s Day as a son truly grateful for the man he is, rather than as a numb skull kid who had not yet grown enough in the britches to realize what he had.
Dad is gone and he isn’t coming back.
I will catch up to him one of these days and then I will say the things that need saying, like, “I love you and I thank God for you.” Until then, while I am among the ones we call “the living,” I am determined not to miss the chances afforded me to say those things to the people within earshot.
And that brings me to the second helping of my Double Dad Blessing the man who has called me son since I was 18 years old…and meant it. He is my father-in-law, and he has been in every way a man can be a Dad to me for 30 years.
Until I met Tommy Weir, I was not aware that it was possible for a man to love the one who married his daughter with every bit as much fervor and sincerity as he loved the daughter herself. Tommy has. Tommy does.
Like a true son, I have put him through a heaping helping of Hell. Through all of the mistakes, missteps, stupidity, sin, selfishness, and sorrow, he has been there, loving me the way a father does a son.
In 30 years, I have never once wondered if my other dad would still love me or be there for me.
One thing about Tommy: If he loves you, you are loved…whether you like it or not. So, get used to it. Another thing about Tommy: When you need him, he will be there.
Every…single…time.
I know some of you good people never had even one dad you could be proud of or who was proud of you the way he ought to have been. I am sorry for you, especially when I consider the extra grace I was given. I think maybe some of us need it more than others. I was so much trouble, I wore one Dad out and tested the limits of another.
Thank you, Dad, for loving me as long as you could. Thank you, PaPa, for picking up where he had to leave off.
And, thank you, Father, for my Dads.
Happy Father’s Day.
