Father’s Day…a pause to reflect on and appreciate moments. It is in those moments that memories are made, stories are shared, character is built, wisdom is developed, knowledge is gained, fun is enjoyed, bonds are established, laughs are created, patterns are set, and love is shared.

My father’s gravestone has this epitaph:  “He has left us a most noble pattern.” He did that in the moments. The essential element of his noble pattern was love. Not perfection, not riches, not possessions, not job titles…but love.

There are thousands of stories that I could share, many including fishing, shooting pool, working on projects, sharing stories, and a myriad of other things. They revolve around things we were doing, not just his title of “father.” That is why I chose to celebrate the actions of fatherhood in my book, Daddin’: The Verb of Being a Dad. Each chapter is a verb revealed by stories, poetry and musings.  The book celebrates being son to a father and father to three sons.

Moments with my dad stopped in 1982. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him. In 1981, I picked up the baton of being a dad when my first son was born. A life of moments began and continues to this day, creating more treasured memories.

When I was finally able to afford a bay fishing boat just over a decade ago, we called it Memory Maker. A few days ago, my youngest son and his own version of Memory Maker (though his is much larger and grander than the one I had) provided an incredible experience for me and one of his brothers with a day of offshore fishing; the eldest could not make the quickly organized trip. The day is one that we will talk about for years to come.

All of that to say, Father’s Day celebrates the moments. The good and the bad; the smooth and the bumpy; the sad and the joyful. The moments combined make the relationship and love is what holds them all together. I used to say that being a dad was the best job ever. Then I realized that it is not a job, but a volunteer role…and the greatest one.

For this Father’s Day, a toast to taking the time to make the moments, to sharing them and to loving.

PS:  I still miss ya, dad!