Happy Father's Day

Today is a day that I remember all the great things that my dad did for me. It has been almost sixteen years since I lost my Dad.

There are so many great memories of him and thinking back I cherish each one of them.

My dad was a great teacher of life. He passed down to me and my siblings the lessons of life that his father had taught him. My dad was hard working, honest and full of integrity. If my dad said he was going to do something - he did it.

He cared about people and loved to meet and talk with new people - he had an insatiable curiosity. My dad was a collector - whether it was cars, antiques or coins or watches he loved his collections and shared many hours with family and friends discussing them.

One of my favorite memories of him was on a childhood vacation up in Canada at Banff in Alberta. It was the fourth of July and we had a snowball fight. Why do I remember this - because my dad was fun loving and loved to joke around.

After I was out of college I was able to take a vacation with my Mom and Dad to Europe. We spent time in England and Switzerland. It was a great trip and one I look back on very fondly. We had planned to go to Norway the summer that he had passed away and I was so looking forward to that. My dad was very proud of his Norwegian heritage. My Mom and I still made that trip that summer to honor him and I'm so grateful that we did. I know Dad was watching over us then.

My dad was very important to me and I know that as the days go by I often catch myself doing things, saying things my dad would say. How does that happen?

Not just today but especially today I want to thank my dad for all he did for me. I miss not being able to say "Happy Father's Day" to him.