who taught me how to be kind and treat everyone with respect

to act and to do and not just say

to be direct and choose my words carefully

but not to be overly precious and focus on the negative

who taught me to wonder and see the beauty in everything around me

to watch patiently as a plant grows

or notice and play with the crows who remember your face

to walk around and say hi to people and know where you live, dirscovering and learning continually day by day

who taught me to stand tall and confident

to be proud of being intelligent, inquisitive, and creative

to listen and not just wait to speak

to dream big and then go after it

that huge changes and big risks can be done well simply by continually moving forward 

by taking the first step

who taught me that love is our greatest gift

that we care about people, not things

and whatever it is, you can’t take it with you

that I could never get away from his love — no matter the disagreement

that I always have a place

who taught me that the path is sometimes hard and scary, even fr him

but we can do it

we can take a step

put a hand out to help another

and give

because what’s mine is yours
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I love you so much and always will! ❤️