This week I got a phone call from a very concerned sounding mother. It just so happened that the mother on the phone was my own. We’ve been on the go quite a bit in the past three weeks and she was checking in to see what I was up to. Specifically, she was calling to make sure I had received a card that my dad sent me in the mail around Father’s Day. I wanted to say yes, but I could tell that I needed to provide an accurate answer. So, I replied, “That doesn’t ring a bell.” I promised that as soon as I got inside I would check the mail stacks and locate the card. Fortunately, the card was among several other parcels that came by post the previous week. My dad is a sentimental man. I’m resisting the urge to sing out loud song from the Broadway hit "Wicked" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHOw8Q0oYag "A Sentimental Man" in the middle of Chick-fil-a where I’m writing today. Contained within the Father’s Day card for me was a letter sharing some things we never got to experience for ourselves about his dad, Nathan V. Frymire. I’ve heard my dad share a few of the things on the list, but I was really grateful for the look into some of the things that distinguished my grandpa from some other men I’ve known over the years. I also really enjoyed reading some things that I felt like I could identify with. The list enhanced my anticipation for our reunion in Heaven one day. Here are just a few of the things I admired and identified with the most from my dad’s list about his dad.
- Racism was not a part of his life. He never, in front of me, spoke a racial term.
- In today’s cultural climate I’m so thankful I got a head start loving my brothers and sisters of a different shade from my grandpa.
- At night, I used to hear him singing in an opera voice in the back bathroom. Somewhere he gained an appreciation for it.
- Lots of people probably wish I would keep my opera singing contained to the back bathroom. Who knew it was genetic? I’m sure grandpa’s was better.
- I do not think he ever missed one of my home basketball games. He would sit in the stands with his paper and pencil and keep stats.
- My dad took it to another level and hardly missed any of my games home or away. I was not always the easiest to watch either. Sometimes I played so hard I forgot to play smart and the dumb fouls really frustrated my dad. I appreciate the sacrifice my dad made to drive all those miles dodging deer through the back roads of northwest Florida traveling to those small school gyms.
- Every night, if you walked by a back bedroom, he could b heard praying as he knelt by the bed.
- I would have loved to hear this. My buddy Brien talks about his grandfather’s faith. I share this with pride and look to imitate it in my home so it will be said after I’m gone one day.
- He was a committed, dedicated and faithful father.
- I saw this in my dad and I’m trying to carrying it on with my boys.
I know I missed out by not getting to know my grandpa. I titled the blog “The Most Admired Man I’ve Yet To Meet.” We met. I was just too young to remember. I anticipate a reunion one day with lots of catching up. Thanks daddy for sharing your dad with us this Father’s Day. I love you.
