In Memory of My Father

Today, my father would have turned 73. He passed away almost four years ago, prematurely, on account of his alcoholism and his stubborn insistence that he never needed to visit a doctor. But I was lucky. He nearly died two years prior without the opportunity for me to spend many memorable days with him. So I count myself lucky for that and for all that I remember about my old man.

Craig Ballantyne

"Cherish time, your most valuable resource. You can never make up the time you lose. The most important choices you'll ever make are how you use your time." - Dave Kekich

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The Chair

By Craig Ballantyne

The chair is where my father sat,
On sunny summer days,
Beer in hand, shirt undone,
The paper had his gaze.

The grass was never greener,
Than in my memory,
The shade was always coolest,
On the days he sat with me.

The Willow tree kept him in comfort,
It wept in gentle breeze,
We'd sit there without speaking,
Happy in each other's company.

The tree has grown in time,
And the years had taken toll,
The chair has been replaced,
My father had grown old.

He no longer gets to sit there,
He lies at rest instead,
But place a chair under that tree,
And it's like he's there again.

A chair, a tree, a father,
You have these in your life too,
Though they may not be the same things,
They matter much to you.

When it comes time to count your blessings,
Remember this in life's race,
The things that really matter,
Exist in plain view of your face.