Elliot a beautiful piece. I have two now adult kids, the best thing about their growing up is that I enjoy the adults that they have come to be. I like them not just love them. It’s a wonderful thing that I am endlessly grateful for. Hope the same will be true for you.
Oh, Elliot. This was so wonderful. It brought up memories of all the good fathers in our family, starting with my own, continuing to my generation and on to yours. It’s quite natural to be a good man when you’ve been shown how it’s done. A good father lets us learn to love in an uncomplicated way. Happy Fathers’ Day. 💕
I am filled with the warmth of your family! Thank you, Elliot, for welcoming us to share this. My own father is no longer living, but the sound of his buoyant footsteps in the hallway stays with me always, and the contented moment when he had just lit his pipe and was about to read. Memory carries life within us and time stands still. Happy Father's Day - belatedly!
Sweet! My mother always said if she did her job well, we'd grow up and leave. But it turned out she didn't mean we should leave forever. I hear that same desire in your hoping your daughters will call you the way you call your father.
One of the sweetest Dad's Day writings I've read. Thank you. My own dad and I were mostly not in sync but I'm well aware of how much he cared for me. We didn't say "love" too often in my family. I hope and expect he knows how much I love him, too.
Elliot, thank you for the concept of "childhood amnesia" and how parents caretake the memories in safekeeping for background filler in our children's lives later. Some of it is trauma bonding like your seizure story, but some much of it is just the little things that give life fullness and depth. Thank you for demonstrating the real meaning of humbly being a father and how it has both enriched your and their lives. Happy Father's Day...
Thanks for not yielding to the temptation to not write. I recall my own father, who exited this life when I was 34 years of age. I was the youngest child of five and he was a busy physician. He seemed more of an icon than a person to know intimately, although across those years I did know him very well. I was halfway through my final year or surgical training, very much looking forward to knowing him as a peer, with things to share that no one else in my family could share with him when he died prematurely of complications of a medical procedure. It felt particularly unfair that we should be deprived of such a special element of our relationship, as I had spent all of my life to that point becoming what he had achieved and hoping to have the satisfaction of his approval in my choice to emulate him. Still, I look back with a great deal of love and thankfulness for all that he was and all he did for me by example and by direct support for my dreams and aspirations. There was no substitute for his influence on me, particularly for his character of devotion to many thousands of women and their children whom he helped usher into this world. His life was one of sacrifice and I don't begrudge him the times lost to himself and family by that devotion. It was an integral part of the father I knew and adored.
Do not despair! As a person in her mid-seventies, I can assure you that as your kids become (much) older, they will definitely remember those precious moments… so many of them are flooding back to me now, as I have more reflection time than I did when I was younger/busier/distracted by the everyday realities of surviving as a single, working mother. Their long-term memories will kick in as their short-term ones start to fade. Thinking this might be one of the blessings of getting older?🤞
Father this is such a good piece!
Thanks daughter :)
High praise for getting congratulated by your teenager! ❤️😊
Thank you for sharing the warmth and love of your family.
Beautifully written, thank you, Elliott!
Elliot a beautiful piece. I have two now adult kids, the best thing about their growing up is that I enjoy the adults that they have come to be. I like them not just love them. It’s a wonderful thing that I am endlessly grateful for. Hope the same will be true for you.
Oh, Elliot. This was so wonderful. It brought up memories of all the good fathers in our family, starting with my own, continuing to my generation and on to yours. It’s quite natural to be a good man when you’ve been shown how it’s done. A good father lets us learn to love in an uncomplicated way. Happy Fathers’ Day. 💕
Thanks, Paula. Of course the moms and aunts as well.
I am filled with the warmth of your family! Thank you, Elliot, for welcoming us to share this. My own father is no longer living, but the sound of his buoyant footsteps in the hallway stays with me always, and the contented moment when he had just lit his pipe and was about to read. Memory carries life within us and time stands still. Happy Father's Day - belatedly!
Sweet! My mother always said if she did her job well, we'd grow up and leave. But it turned out she didn't mean we should leave forever. I hear that same desire in your hoping your daughters will call you the way you call your father.
So beautifully written. I still hold special memories of my dad listening to me go on and on about whatever held my interest at the moment.
I don’t remember what we talked about but I do remember that he gave me his attention.
I am now in my eighties and I still smile when I think of those days.
One of the sweetest Dad's Day writings I've read. Thank you. My own dad and I were mostly not in sync but I'm well aware of how much he cared for me. We didn't say "love" too often in my family. I hope and expect he knows how much I love him, too.
Elliot, thank you for the concept of "childhood amnesia" and how parents caretake the memories in safekeeping for background filler in our children's lives later. Some of it is trauma bonding like your seizure story, but some much of it is just the little things that give life fullness and depth. Thank you for demonstrating the real meaning of humbly being a father and how it has both enriched your and their lives. Happy Father's Day...
Thanks for not yielding to the temptation to not write. I recall my own father, who exited this life when I was 34 years of age. I was the youngest child of five and he was a busy physician. He seemed more of an icon than a person to know intimately, although across those years I did know him very well. I was halfway through my final year or surgical training, very much looking forward to knowing him as a peer, with things to share that no one else in my family could share with him when he died prematurely of complications of a medical procedure. It felt particularly unfair that we should be deprived of such a special element of our relationship, as I had spent all of my life to that point becoming what he had achieved and hoping to have the satisfaction of his approval in my choice to emulate him. Still, I look back with a great deal of love and thankfulness for all that he was and all he did for me by example and by direct support for my dreams and aspirations. There was no substitute for his influence on me, particularly for his character of devotion to many thousands of women and their children whom he helped usher into this world. His life was one of sacrifice and I don't begrudge him the times lost to himself and family by that devotion. It was an integral part of the father I knew and adored.
Oh Elliot, what a beautiful essay. You have made my heart happy.
Do not despair! As a person in her mid-seventies, I can assure you that as your kids become (much) older, they will definitely remember those precious moments… so many of them are flooding back to me now, as I have more reflection time than I did when I was younger/busier/distracted by the everyday realities of surviving as a single, working mother. Their long-term memories will kick in as their short-term ones start to fade. Thinking this might be one of the blessings of getting older?🤞
Happy belated father’s day. You are very lucky. Enjoy
Such wonderful thoughts and memories. Thanks, Elliot, for sharing.
Thank you Marcia.
This is awesome.