This has been a long week.  After a trip to Atlanta to watch the Braves play last Sunday and then traveling to Jacksonville for the entire week for a work conference, I decided to rest a little today and skip church. 

While at home, I stumbled upon an NBC retrospective episode of Meet the Press which focused on remembering their beloved host of 17 years, Tim Russert.  He passed away Friday from a sudden heart attack.  Honestly, I have never been a huge fan of this show.  Usually I’m always at church when it is on but I’m also not really into politics.  And often what I did see of Tim Russert through the years, I really didn’t like.  I’m not sure why but for some reason or another, I would usually turn the channel when I saw him on.  His public persona was not very appealing to me. 

But something caught my attention today as I was flipping channels and found the show.  Tom Brokaw was practically in tears talking about his longtime friend and what an impact he had made on everyone that knew him.  He spoke of what a great mentor, friend, and colleague he was.  But what really touched my heart was how much the panel spoke of his love for his father and of being a father to his own child.  As we celebrate fathers this weekend for Father’s Day it seemed an appropriate thing to remember about this man who was known by the public for being quite rough on political candidates.  I was glad to see a glimpse of the other side of him. 

But it also reminded me of how much I miss my own father.  And how much I wish I could have one more Father’s Day to share with him and tell him thank you for all that he has done and for everything he has meant to me.

So on this Father’s Day I celebrate my father’s legacy.  All that he was and all that he wasn’t.  I will remember all the lessons he taught and those he didn’t intend to teach.  And I will carry him in my heart because if he is there, then he will always be with me.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

The sun finally arrived on my last full day here in Jacksonville.  The temperature and humidity stayed relatively low so it was a beautiful day here on the river.  The conference was also better today.  A few really good sessions that gave me some material to think about and apply when I get back home.

The conference let out a little early on the last day so I took advantage of the nice weather and walked all over downtown.  Then hopped in the car and took a brief trip across Hart bridge to the South shore to see if I had been missing anything.  Nothing really that I could tell, but I didn’t drive all the way out to the beaches either.  Something tells me there is probably more action there.

I returned to the North shore and took a walk down the Riverwalk to Jacksonville Landing.  This is a place reminiscent of the 80s Miami Vice scene – at least that’s what I decided.  There I found a food court among other things and decided I’d stop for a quick bite.  While I was there, a live cover band started to play outside in the plaza area.  They sounded really good, playing everything from Journey to ZZtop, to Train.  Lots of other things in between.  It was a nice, relaxing way to end my travel to Jacksonville – sitting on the balcony, breeze coming in off the water, sun setting, and good music to listen to. 

After taking in the sights and sounds I walked back to the hotel and called my mother.  Bad news, my grandmother is in the hospital again and worse, her house had been broken into the night before and her purse was stolen.  She was home the entire time, asleep.  I thank God nothing happened to her.  This could have turned out so much worse – I won’t even think about the “what if’s” of this situation.  The burglar only took her purse and nothing else and did so quietly, no harm to my grandmother.  But her money, checkbook, credit cards, identification and house keys were all in her purse.   

She had already been having a good bit of health trouble the last week or so and fell in her home a few days before all this happened.  With all these things considered, my uncle and aunt decided it was best to call EMS.  So she is in the hospital now and will probably be sent to a nursing home – at least temporarily. 

I am so worried for my grandmother.  I love her dearly.  For so long she was the center, the heart of our family.  Now that we are older and some have passed away, we all don’t spend as much time together as we used to.  And I often don’t show it or visit her as often as I should, but no matter what, she is a trememdously important person in my life.  I plan to see her when I return to town. 

So on this day that the sun decided to arrive, I’ve been given a little cloud for my sky.  I’ll just keep praying, it’s all I can do.