On Father's Day

Today was spent cleaning out the house after one parent had died and the other had gone to live in a place where she'll have the help she needs.

Going through closets, sorting their belongings into piles, and finding something special.

In an old wallet of Dad's was an envelope sent by airmail from Asia. Inside the envelope was a note dated September 18, 1995.

It said,

Dear Dad,

Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for working so hard to take care of our family.

No one ever has everything they want, but our family always had everything we needed.

Mainly we had a wonderful father who loved us. . . .

Finding the note among his things reminded us that Dad worked nearly ten years beyond the normal retirement age. And that he was always cheerful about doing his duty.

This year, on Father's Day, we were glad for the chance to be doing our duty as a son.