My Dad’s Birthday
On March 31, 1930 my dad was born on the kitchen table at the family home in Toronto. His older brother was made to wait upstairs until it was all over. Two years later they would be joined by a third brother and ten years after that, the three young boys would lose their father leaving their mother to raise them during the war and then in the boom which followed.
My dad really was born in a golden era, opportunities to survive and thrive existed even for a widow with three boys, with of course the help of extended family and the local church. Dad was gifted with a mind for numbers, would work in insurance for a time, then on to be an accountant before finally finding his vocation, his true calling as a teacher. He loved teaching, he loved watching his young students grasp new concepts, especially those who would struggle to understand and the finally get it. He also enjoyed hearing from them after they graduated to learn what they went on to do with their lives, appreciating the small role he played.
Dad and mom married in 1957. Children were born in 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1970, (yes, I am the outlier). They moved from Ontario to Kenya and then back to Ontario before finally settling in the Vancouver area. Both my parents loved to travel and make new friends along the way.
His life changed drastically in April of 1996 when my mom died. He found her in her bed after he returned from an early morning dentist appointment. In the years that followed Dad continued to travel and make new friends. In all Dad probably visited more than 25 countries. He also got to meet and watch all four of his grandchildren grow up. He had, by his own account, a truly beautiful and blessed life; enjoying, seeing and experiencing more than he could ever have imagined.
My dad came to understand Jesus’ deep, deep love for him rather late in his life. Sure he ‘believed’ in God before that, he had been an altar boy after all. But it was not until his early 50’s that he began to see and be shaped by this already existing reality; that Jesus was always with him, always for him, always in him and always loved him.
I write this on Tuesday March 31, 2020. He turns 90 today. We were supposed to have had a grand party with all my siblings and assorted friends this past weekend, but, obviously, that did not happen. Today, I will bring him a big gift basket of beer, chocolate and treats (he will be very happy). I will tell him I love him and that I am so thankful for all that he has given me throughout my life. Even now with his declining health and mind, he is still giving; giving me the opportunity to care for him, honour him and love him when he is beyond his years of glory. But I will have to say this through a window, and I will not be able to share one of the beers with him nor will I be able to give him a hug.
One thing I can do today as a way of honouring him is to read his three favourite Psalms, probably his favourite part of scripture (aside from 1 John 3 and 4, he was always about God’s love), Psalms 148, 149 and 150, “Praise the LORD!”. In addition to honouring my dad today, they are not bad pieces of scripture for us to read during this time in our world.
“Let everything that has breath Praise the LORD!”
I invite you to read them today too.
Happy Birthday Dad.