A belated Father's Day tribute

I can't believe I haven't written in over a month. I am one who really DOES like to write, but I haven't written anything in here. Now that I am healthy, I don't have a lot to write about that is very earth-shattering. That is actually quite nice, but I think that trials and hard times makes us think more about the things we are grateful for. When things are going along all right, we tend to get a little complacent, and probably not as grateful as we should be. We let the little things get us down, and lose sight of the "big picture." I am definitely guilty of that. Yesterday was Father's Day, and it was a good day at our house. My kids were wonderful about expressing their feelings to their dad, and that was a good thing. Just like me, they also can take things for granted...and it is good for them to think about what a great dad they have, and to TELL him that. So it was a good day for him, and he was treated very well. The most meaningful things he received were letters from some of his kids, which they had really thought about, and where they expressed some of their deepest feelings about him. I know that meant a lot to him. I thought a lot about my dad yesterday. He has been gone since 1996, so it has been a long time since I could tell him how I felt about him...and I probably didn't express to him often enough how I felt. My dad was a man of great integrity. In fact, he just EXPECTED us to be honest. I don't remember him ever telling me to be honest, it was just something he expescted of us. My dad did a lot for people--gave a lot fo service to people. One of my favorite memories was of going at Christmas to visit the families of prisoners, in an organization called The Friends Outside. My dad liked people and made friends wherever he went. I am thankful I could be his daughter--many of the things I hold dear are because of his example. I am thankful that my dad was a man of integrity. With the way things are going these days, it is not a common thing to have people who really care about keeping their integrity no matter what.That was my dad. I hope I can stay true to the principles I know are right, no matter what the rest of the world may say. In our scriptures it says that part of the covenant you make when you are baptized is to be a "witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places." I hope that I can live in such a way that that could be said of me. I feel like my dad, in spite of his normal weaknesses, tried to be true to what he believed in. I hope I can be like that. May you all be blessed to live true to yourself--then we can always face the "person in the mirror." Have a great day!