In our lifetime, we travel lots of roads.
Some lead to exciting places and people we love.
Others take us to places we may not want to be, or toward difficult situations that have to be dealt with.
It's Father's Day today.
And I'm reflecting on all of the fathers and father figures that I've known (and traveled a few roads with) in my life.
I'm so grateful for all of them. For my own father, for my stepfather, for my boys' father, and for both of my brothers who are excellent fathers and role models.
Yet today is a bittersweet day for me.
My father passed away almost 13 years ago, far too young.
He was just getting to know my boys who were so young at the time that their memories of him are almost nonexistent.
Seeing all of the posts and families being able to hug their dads and spend time with them is both heartwarming and incredibly sad.
Dad traveled a lot of roads in his life. Many that I'll never know about or really appreciate. But I'm grateful for the ones I got to travel with him.
On Father's Day, I spend a few moments reflecting on the things I loved most about him.
His laugh for one. I can still hear him telling his bad jokes and the way he would laugh.
The way he always wore his wallet on a chain attached to his belt.
His love of a good breakfast and a hot cup of coffee.
His smile.
Oh...and the bunny ears he would put up behind our heads in nearly every photo.
And then there was that trip we took. The road we traveled together, just dad and me.
It was more than 20 years ago now. I was fresh out of college and had started my career in the travel industry.
My cousin was getting married out in Washington state.
Dad had never traveled in an airplane before. I made all the plans, booked our flights, took care of all of the details.
I still remember sitting next to him on that plane. The wonder he felt experiencing that for the first time.
And the pride in his eyes when he looked at me.
That trip was also our first time ever visiting Mt. Rainier National Park. Dad's brother (Uncle Dave) took us up there to hike and see the amazing view.
Dad was like a kid on that trip. Marveling at the scenery, taking in the awe-inspiring views.
We shared some very special moments on that mountain, for the first time really as adult to adult.
Dad and I would share memories and laugh about our visit for years after.
And he would tease me about how many Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes I had when we were in downtown Seattle.
Hey...when in Rome, right?
Not long after Dad passed away, I started making an annual trip to Washington State around his birthday in August.
The first trip, we got balloons in Harley colors (Dad loved his bike!) and we let those balloons go at a lookout point not far from our very first hike on that mountain.
Then Uncle Dave and I took that same hike and talked about Dad and the time we had spent there.
I'm finally going to get back to Washington State next month. The last few years put a pause on that annual visit.
This trip will also be a milestone one. And bittersweet.
Uncle Dave and Aunt Nan are selling the home that had become a mainstay on my trips there and will be moving in September.
This will be the last time I ever sleep in that little guesthouse with the fantastic view of the mountain right out the window.
I don't know if we'll actually make the trip to hike the mountain this year. But I'll get to see it.
I'll sit on the swing in their backyard with my coffee and look at that mountain peak.
And I'll feel Dad there with me.
The last time I was there I wrote my Sunday morning blog post from the guesthouse porch. A hummingbird came to visit me, three different times flying within a few inches of where I was sitting.
It truly is a special place.
So...Dad wherever you are, whatever road you are traveling now, just want you to know how much I love you. And I miss you.
And when I'm there, I'll tell that mountain how grateful I am for her impact on our lives.
Cherish those fathers and father figures who are here with you and the memories of those who aren't.
Happy Father's Day, friends!
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