Drawing a Blank

I'm at a loss for words this morning.

Father's Day and Mother's Day are both complicated days for me. Maybe they are for everyone. It's easy to look around and think other people are having the Normal Life that we feel we are missing out on. It's all relative.

(Sorry, that was unintentional.)

My own dad was shy, insecure, highly intelligent, and dyslexic. He never felt like he fit in. He had a distant relationship with his own father. He didn't know what to do with his three daughters. But he was really good at working. He poured everything into his work. We rarely saw him. He was an outsider in his own home.

Throughout my life I have picked up bits and pieces of fatherhood from many sources. My father was my first example but there was a lot missing for me. Luckily life gives us more chances to love and be loved. So today's column is dedicated to my own father, Byron Jackson, and also the following people who have helped me define what fatherhood means: Kit Wilke, UCC Minister;Roger Marks, father-in-law from my first marriage; Evan Lash, my brother-in-law; Sam McCready, my father-in-law; Richard McCready, my husband.

I am thankful for all of them today.