Friday, June 11, 2010. My son Thing One turns 34 months old. I was a little sad during the week because of the hardship I was going with the car problems I was having and the trouble I was having getting help getting my kids situated while I found a way to and from work, etc. I was really missing my dad at that point. The man who was always there for me. The man I hope that Thing One will grow up to be.
That morning on the drive to work I heard the news of a CHP (California Highway Patrol) officer who had been killed while on duty. I stopped and said a prayer for the family and was very reflective on the times my dad would go to work and Mami would say a prayer. My father, Sarge, worked as a deputy for the Los Angeles Sheriff department. Whenever I hear that an officer has gone down, I pray. These men give there all to keep the rest of us safe.
Later that morning one of my friends on Facebook contacted me and told me that the officer who had died was my other friend's younger brother. The tears rolled down and I prayed even more. I felt the pain of my friend, losing her beloved brother. I felt the pain of her mother, losing her son. I felt the pain of his wife, losing her companion. I felt the loss of his children, growing up without their father.
The men behind those badges have families, have loved ones, have friends. They put it all on the line so you and I can remain safe. Then I was reminded of all the chivalrous men who do not wear a badge, but are heroes in their own way. These men are those who pick up the pieces after an absent father, whether that be voluntary or involuntary. Those men who will take children in as their own and shield them from harm and life's bumps in the road. They can be step fathers who take in a whole family and make them their own. They are brother's, friends, neighbors who in a moment's crisis are there.
On this Father's day I grieve for the father I lost to cancer and for those two children who's very courageous father not only protected them but protected the highways so that many other father's could get home safely to their children. I also honor on those of you who take the place of a lost father. I honor those father's who find it necessary to keep and protect a family and stay married for long periods of time and take care of the mother of your children. You are truly men of valor.
Dad, I truly miss you everyday. In the 12 years you gave me as a father, you were exceptional and taught me life's lessons in a short period I was under your wing. Everything you did for me served as an example to what I wanted to be like as a parent and values I instill in my little one's everyday.
Thing One, you have big shoes to fill.
