Happy Birthday To My Dad...

Just wanted to say happy birthday to my dad. He would've been 80 years old today. There are times when I still really miss him. I guess I'll always feel that way. I look up to him a lot as I go through my walk in faith. I look up to him as someone who did it the way I am trying to do it: It's not how you start, but how you finish... He made some huge mistakes in his life, as did I. I used to carry around a lot of anger and guilt and depression. I think he did too. But as it got closer to the end for him, we both made an effort to patch things up and I must say, the last few years he was on this earth, we really got along great and I managed to love him again. He became a dad to me again, someone I could look up to. And most of all, someone I could love and be proud of and l miss very much to this day. But the best part in developing my faith, is I have come to believe that he is in Heaven with my mom, the true love of his life. When she passed more than 30 years ago, a major part of him died with her. He fell into a deep hole and didn't get out of it till about the last ten years of his life. But like I said, it's not how you start or run the race in the middle, it's all about how you finish. And when I say he turned it around, man did he ever! Even though he still missed his girl, he began to live again. And he was happy. The relationship we re-built is something I will cherish forever. Happy Birthday Ol' Man... (I never called him dad or daddy or papa or stuff like that. I just always called him ol' man... but as a term of endearment)... I miss you a lot, but give mom a hug for me and know that I will continue to live and love in the way you showed me... for better or worse... hahahah...