Dear Weldon,
Happy Father’s Day!! As I was thinking about what to get you
and what to do for you to try and make you feel special on Father’s day I just
kept thinking about how lucky I am to have you as the father of my babies, and
how lucky they are to call you Daddy. I want you to know that through the years
my love and admiration for you has only grown and that I ‘see’ you.
I see you in your everyday kindness to every person you
meet. From the fast food worker to your frontline employees. You are always
kind and treat people with dignity and gratitude. I have seen you be kind to
neighbor kids when you are working and they are ‘helping’ and you would
probably rather they leave you alone. I have seen your kindness in mowing a
neighbor’s lawn when they are having a hard time. You are kind to me and do
little things every day that are considerate and sweet. Things like choosing
the spot in the shower where the cold air comes in so I can stand in the warm
water, or saving your cookie one the airplane in case I get hungry later. Or
when you wake earlier than me and you quietly sneak out so I can sleep a bit
longer. I can think of so many examples of your kindness, and I am sure that
there are countless others things that you do that I probably don’t even notice,
but I am so grateful for you. I have
seen your kindness even with animals on many occasion. I love that about you.
Thank you.
I see you make the simplest things fun. Like walks with
slingshots, or driving with the windows down and yelling out what we read on
signs, digging for worms to feed the fish, or having contests to see who can
catch popcorn in their mouth. You are fun. You are funny, and can always make
us laugh. Thank you.
I have seen how smart you are. You amaze me at that things
that you know and can do. I am convinced that you could excel at anything you
put your mind to. You are so talented and gifted. I love watching you build
things and think it is really a cool talent and skill that you have, plus it
gives us nice furniture for way cheaper and better built. Thank you!
I see you often put your wants and needs last to get the
kids, and even me the things that we want and need. Thank you.
I see you get up early every morning to go to a job that is
often thankless and exhausting so that you can provide for us. I see how hard
you work and how much you give to give us the best life possible. I see how
often you come home tired and perhaps frustrated, probably wanting nothing more
than to go into a quiet room and be alone, but I see you greet me, each child,
and even the dog, with a smile and loving kindness. I see you dig deep at the
end of every day for a little more energy so you can give us all a bit of
attention and love. I see the struggle sometimes to be patient at bedtime when
you are tired and have nothing left to give, and yet you somehow find just a
sliver more and are able to gently and lovingly kiss the kids goodnight, often
even playing a little and making each one feel special. Thank you.
I see you when you come home from a busy day and work and
walk into my chaos, when I am stressing about something meaningless, or maybe I
don’t have dinner ready like I should. I see you treat me with patience and
kindness when you probably feel frustrated at needing to take care of things at
home as well as at work. You are always so strong and hold everything together
when I feel I am at the end of my rope. I see you listen to me cry, I see you
do everything in your power to make me feel better. I have felt you hold me and
help me through any difficulty or sadness that I have faced. Even if the
problems sometimes are trivial or simple or even short lived, like babies not
sleeping, you have always been there to listen to me and help me through it.
Thank you.
I have seen you be so very generous with your time and
money, always wanting to help other people out even if we ourselves didn’t have
a lot at the time. I have seen you work hard. Physically like welding or
ranching, even building a barn or chopping mesquites when you needed to. And
even when it was mentally as well as physically challenging, like
working at AIMEs and even here at Eaton. I remember when you first got hired
with AIMEs and when we realized that it was not a salaried position and that
you would be working quite a bit more that we had been told. I remember
watching you through the window as you got into your truck and prepared to go
into work. You were exhausted, not used to night shift, disappointed about not
having any family time, and worried that if you were only being paid hourly that
we may not be able to make ends meet. But we needed the job. I remember
watching you get into your truck and just sit there for a moment with your arms
wrapped around the steering while and your head down resting on your hands. You
were a man with the weight of the world on your shoulders. Then you shook your
head a little and sat up strapped in, and drove off to work. I see you do that
here with Eaton too. You may think you are just doing your job, but I see the
often heroic effort that it takes and know that it takes its toll on you. And
yet you soldier on. Thank you.
I could write so so much more but I am out of time. Just
know that we love you and are grateful. Happy Father’s Day!!
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