This date is always hard

Today is my dad's birthday.  He would be 69-years-old today.  More than any other day of the entire year, this is the date on which I miss him.  This is the day that is supposed to be all about celebrating him, and he isn't here.  I don't love this date, but I'm grateful Dad was a part of my life for forty years, and that I celebrated him as much as I could on each one.  I vividly remember his 39th birthday.  It was my first year at college, and he was going on a work trip.  It was early in the "cell phone" era, and calling outside of the cell range was pricey.  I woke up really early so that I could call him shortly after he hit the road.  I remember how pleased he sounded that it had mattered so much to me.

It's a beautiful, absolutely gorgeous spring day, but it is still a day that hurts.  It's been a rough month overall, and I hope to soon write about things happening in our lives and catching up!