For my Dad

From my garden to yours.

I took many photos yesterday of the growing flowers in my neighbourhood, and this is the one I liked the most. Irises are blooming everywhere.......in stunning technicolour. I love them for many reasons.

They are the most elegant and showy at this time of year, like a brightly coloured sundress that flows when you confidently walk down the street. Irises exude feminity and feeling.

They remind me of the many little miracles all around us. Every year, these beauties return in all of their hardy glory. How can anyone miss them? Irises make us stop in our busy tracks to take a moment to appreciate life.

Most importantly, they remind me of my family tree. From a sturdy stalk comes many blooms.

Dad, I picture you today, this Sunday Father's Day spending some of it in your garden in the backyard, perhaps with the ballgame on the radio in the background...tending to it, but also appreciating the beauty as you always do. You can count on me doing the same two provinces away.

Thank you for all that you and Mom have done always, but most recently over the past month. One of the most important lessons you taught all three of your daughters is that you are always just a phone call away. No matter what. We have taken you up on that many times and every single time you WERE!! Thank God! It is a lesson I will uphold for my children and for the other special people in my life. Always.

We are a sturdy stalk............because of you. We can be counted on because of you. We appreciate our strengths, individually and as an extended family because of you.

Happy Father's Day Deputy Dog Bob, with love and gratitude. Always

Muskie xo