A few years ago I took Lynn and Darrell who were probably 12 and 10 at the time to Newfoundland to visit my friends from college. We flew from Toronto to Montreal and then from Montreal to New Brunswick where we boarded a plane that my friend Max would describe as a “Bush Pilot” to our final destination of Deer Lake, Nfld. The Bush Pilot’s plane held 12 passengers and wasn’t as smooth as the jets we had been on. It was on that last stretch of the flight that Lynn developed an inner ear problem and was almost in tears because she couldn’t get her ears to pop. Darrell was nervous in that plane because there was more turbulence than the jets and he was also concerned for Lynn. I was between the two of them, trying to make everything better. When we landed in Deer Lake and started to depart the plane a lady came up to me and told me that she had been watching me. “You are a wonderful father” she said; “you’re the kind of father that everyone should have. I wish that I could have had a father like you, but I didn’t”. That was one of the biggest compliments that anyone has ever said to me. And I’m not telling you that to blow my own horn (even though I am pretty proud of it). Instead, it meant so much to me that she thought I was a great dad that I have passed compliments on to other dads over the years.
On Sunday I went to Church in Ridgetown with my own dad. In front of us there was a family with two children. As the dad held his daughter in his arms, it was clear how much he loved her. He held her close and every once in awhile he would bend over and kiss her on the top of her head…he was just a natural. And it was obvious that the little girl felt safe and comfortable in daddy’s arms. That dad is one of the dads that I would have passed a compliment on to, but I didn’t have the chance. Maybe somebody will though. Maybe somebody will read this and know exactly who he is because they thought the same thing too…what a good dad.
