mirror ball 17: thank you, dad

One way in which I am glad to be like my father:

Meghan: My dad is a man of few words and he chooses his battles carefully, but when he does decide to fight he is a tough match. I think that I'm the same way, to a lesser degree.

My dad had a major stroke a few years ago. He was in rough shape for awhile and his doctors were not sure how well he could recover. I took a few months off of work and went to Michigan to help because my mom couldn't do it all on her own.

Initially my dad could not walk or talk. He was accepted into an inpatient treatment facility and I stayed there with him most days, going to different therapies with him. It was a pretty depressing place, but it was strange-- my dad never seemed upset. Although he couldn't talk, he smiled most of the time. He worked so hard to get better. After hours of physical therapy, he would go to the gym on his down time. He picked out a flashy pair of sneakers and started wearing track suits. He acted like he was an athlete, not a stroke patient. He constantly did crossword puzzles to heal his brain and after a few months he was beating his therapists at Scrabble. He was just so incredibly positive about the whole healing process. I never heard him complain.

It's now three years later and you would hardly recognize that my dad has had a stroke.

Tanya: There are so many ways that I am glad to be like my father. To choose one I would have to say that my creativity comes from him. In 7 days it will be 14 years since my amazing father made his transition. This was the great loss of my life. It happened when my first daughter, Maya, was two months old, and it has been my job to keep him alive for my two children. My Dad was hands down the kindest man I have ever known. He had a brilliant mind, was a creative thinker, was gentle and patient and taught me that there is no such thing as "I can't". My Dad had eyes that smiled, and gave wonderful long hugs to everybody! He was a great believer in the power of our thoughts and words to create our reality. Though he was a self proclaimed agnostic, he lived his life in the most spiritual ways. To the end he would say "life is good", and he lived it always with a childlike zeal and with endless curiosity. He is now my guardian angel, and I am the person I am because of him. Thank you Dad!

John S: My dad came from a family of eight boys and one girl. When I was young my family would frequently visit my dad's brothers George and Roll (Roland) and their families. Some evenings, after several rounds of beer for the uncles, the tape recorder would come out and Dad, George and Roll would record improvised "radio plays". They were all great with accents and snappy dialogue, and they cracked each other up with their "Bob and Ray"-type humor. The cousins would be gathered around, listening, while the air filled with cigarette smoke and laughter. At bigger reunions, when all or most of the uncles were together, they would join together (usually in front of a campfire) and sing beautiful old songs in four-part harmony-- the same songs they sang together as boys in southern Indiana, while they did the dishes. I know that my acting career is my "Steinkamp genes" at work, and like my dad, all I need is a good buddy at my side to have all kinds of fun.

Jacklyn: I didn't know my dad well because he became sick when I was very young and then died when I was nine.

It's difficult for me to think of one way or any way in which I'm glad to be like him. I remember so little of him but I do know that although he was a lawyer, the artist lurked. So maybe that's the way in which we are alike, except mine doesn't lurk and I think he'd like that.

He was also a punster for all times. I pun.

And words. His love of words. I remember him tossing an imaginary alphabet in the air and then his plucking the letters out as I spelled a word. We are definitely alike in our love of words. This makes me very happy.

I remember his kindness and his compassion. I hope I'm like him in these qualities.

I've never asked myself how I might be glad to be like my father. Thank you for this theme. He feels very present.

Valerie S: I used to call it "the wonder of the everyday". My high school friends, those who really knew me, called it my natural high...

It's that fascination, that unmitigated joy, at seeing the way a bee gathers pollen, or really examining the markings on a bird. It's watching how a spider truly goes about constructing that web. It's tidepools and leaves turning in Vermont; it's that smell when you first get close to the ocean after a long time away. My father gave me the wonder of each small thing and the clarity of this moment of taking it in, fully-- its simplicity and its complexity.

I am so glad to be like my father because I am aware of the place of small things in the Great Dance that is this place and this time.

If you are so inclined, visit homeostasispress.com/microcosm, where his own words help to clarify. This isn't a sales pitch, though his books about life are for sale here on his website; this particular link is to a piece of his own writing on the site with which I relate very strongly... At age 86, he's still fascinated by the world around him, and is still writing about it. I hope to be like him, still, when I am his age. Thanks, Dad.

Steve: Despite genetic legacies that should have made both of us Republicans, my dad and I turned out to be liberal and Democrat. We also laugh the same way at a certain kind of sophomoric and off-color joke (just like his mother, incidentally)-- heads back, loud.

John M: Mmmm, that's thought provoking. I have long since forgiven my dad for not being the ideal father and I wish he was alive so I could have a relationship with him. I admire his military service and his single-minded dedication to farming, I miss his really odd laugh which the other kids would try to imitate, and I loved his sometimes outrageous joy at social situations. My dad was a character, and it was hard to love him when he was alive, but I do love him now.

Tracy: I am glad to be like my father... who I call Dad. My Dad has taught me many things. He says there is always a lesson to be learned in life. He taught me to make a decision and never look back. He has taught me to help others, and to be a supportive and giving friend. You should always be available when someone is in need. It is very important to finish what you start, and following through with whatever you say. Last, be the best person you can be.

These are a few things my Dad has taught me, and I try to live by these teachings every day of my life.

This is why I am glad to be like my Dad.

Dan: Language of Nature

It was instilled in my father by his father... even though he ran away from that Iowa farm and became a doctor and I ran away from the Nebraska suburbs to be an actor... a love of nature. Growing up we lived on 3 acres of land and my father would plan/plant/tend it for 8 months out of the year... always amazed at the turn of the seasons/ how seeds germinate grow/peak and then recede into the earth... My own backyard garden has become my own reflection of the wonder, predictability and serendipity of nature. We share a love of spring and the signs of life that emerge from the warming winter soil/ the spring light that fills the sky and the sunsets that turn that light into an explosion of color. Our eyes see similar signs of love/hope in the nature that surrounds us...