My Dad

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. The older I get, the more I seem to reminisce around birthdays and other holidays. My mother is no longer living. Most of my blood relatives live in Idaho, my brother resides in NYC, I have a cousin in Seattle, and more family in Montana and Alabama. I miss them all a lot and rarely see any of them on a holiday anymore, but such is life. I do have a big family now in Maine (and Michigan, Florida, New Hampshire)... my husband's side of the family. I love and enjoy spending time with all of them, but, and maybe this is a strange comment, but none of them look like me.

In any event, here is a drawing of my dad when he retired at age 55 from Boeing. I have wonderful memories of the two of us, hiking around Mount Rainier, fiddling with different lenses as we took pictures of wild flowers and wildlife. I am sure I get my love of the outdoors from him because my mom hated camping and hiking. She was much more comfortable sipping coffee at a street-side cafe or going to see the latest disaster movie...hey that sounds like my brother, Mr. NYCity. I find it hard to believe that I am 55 now and thinking about retirement. It's even harder to believe that my dad has been retired for 30 years and still enjoying life tho he's more likely to read in a comfy chair these days than slip into his hiking boots and head for the hills. When I look at this drawing, sketched by a Boeing graphic artist and presented to him on his last day of work, I miss those times with my dad so many years ago and I will miss him this Thanksgiving. A phone call, or maybe a SKYPE call will have to bridge the miles between us. But, it doesn't replace being able to give him a hug after Thanksgiving dinner.