It was a chilly 1st day of March as we watched my father’s SUV pull up our long winding driveway.

The children saw him as well from another window and began saying, “Papa is here!

“MAMA!!!“

“Papa is ready to pick you up.”

Then Caleb (2nd born) said, “No need to hurry, Mama. If there is one thing Papa is —— it’s PATIENT!”

I kissed the kids good bye and with an earnest heart I looked at Blake and commented, “I don’t know if I should go after all. There are so many needs here at home.” Clearly, I think too highly of myself if I think that I can’t be gone for a day. However, there was an extra tug on my heart that morning since one of our kids had come down sick.

I did some self talking then headed for the door after grabbing my coat, a Yeti of piping hot elderberry tea, and my purse.

Off we headed. Just the two of us.

We were anticipating an adventure. I had this desire on my heart for quite some time but just hadn’t pulled it off yet.

Dear Daddy,

Happy Birthday!! You are the most incredible father a girl could have. You are over the top loving, unbelievably patient, genuinely kind, and the most generous person I have ever known.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. To your childhood home town in KENTUCKY!

Much love,

Catherine

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I had no idea how much that day trip would teach me, connect me to my father, and deepen my love for a generation that I never met. My great grandparents had 7 children. It was shocking to learn that my great grandmother had such a brood of kids as we do. 😉

Daddy didn’t mind how often we stopped (remember that patience virtue) or how long it took us to get there. We just strolled along as he told me stories of his boyhood. I took notes as fast as I could so that it would be recorded for the next generation.

The most sobering part of the trip was traveling on the same narrow 2 lane highway that daddy took when he was 14 years old and had a tragic accident. My grandparents had warned him to not ride in the car with anyone yet he ignored their wisdom and went anyway. A car hit the vehicle that Daddy and two other boys were in – it was a head on collision and my father went through the front windshield of the car and back through as the car came to a sudden stop. Daddy proceeded to have 4 surgeries over the next year. I see clearly how this is one of the things God used in his life to have compassion for others.

When we stopped at a trendy coffee shop along the way, I found a plant to give my father as a memory from the day. I got us each one. I couldn’t believe the name of the soft green lush leaves in a clay pot. The name of the plant is, “Mother to Thousands.”

My great grandmother has between 75-100 offspring that have come into this world since she was here just a mere 50 years ago.

“There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” 2 Cor 4:18

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

James 4:14