Missing My Dad Today

I'm grateful this Father's Day to have had such a patient and loving Father.  Since this is my first Father's Day without a Father it will be a sad day.  The man that I never knew to weigh more than 140 pounds would have appreciated a box of candy today as much as any woman would on a special occasion.  I definitely got my sweet tooth from him. But unfortunately, I have experienced different results.  I can picture him now smoking his pipe and culling through a box of chocolates that my older brothers had sent him from the big city when they were in college. 
I appreciate his patience and laid back demeanor more these days than ever, a quality that I'm sure contributed to him living to be almost 99 years of age.  I can remember coming home after driving his 98 Oldsmobile to a high school party where it was hit in the parking lot.  I was hysterical and in tears but I can remember my friend Reb telling me that my Dad would be cool about it.  He was right.  When I got home, I told my Dad what had happened and he put down whatever he was reading that night and said, "let's go take a look at it".  I can still remember the calm that came over me.  Better than any drug that I have ever experienced.
I'm glad to have had a loving Father as well.  Although, I can only remember him telling me that he loved me as a young man once and that was when I left home at 18 years of age.  After my Mother died in 1998, he became much more verbal in expressing his affection.  I suppose he stood back and let her be the lovey dovey one all those years?
So on this sad day, I'm cherishing the many fond memories that I have of my Dad.