Ignore The Banter…Remembering My Dad

Today is November 6, 2014 and the anniversary of my father’s passing. My father had a short 6 week battle with Pancreatic Cancer in 2013. My father always did things on his own terms, and even in the face of cancer, he decided to choose quality of life with his family, over longevity.

The biggest lesson my father instilled in me was to be true to myself. He shared a poem that was given to him while in Vietnam which I still carry with me daily. “The Guy In The Glass” by Dale Wimbrow, 1934.

My father always told me that as long as I can follow my whisper, it won’t ever lead me in the wrong direction. He showed me that my whisper comes from a place of love. A place that is ethical, empathetic, and brutally honest. As long as I listened and followed it, I would always be able to face the man in the glass every morning and every evening.

Even more important to me, my father helped me find my own whisper and made a dent in my universe. A dent that transcends time and space.

Today I remember my father. I remember him making a dent in my birthday cake with my face. I remember laughing. I remember the dent he made in my life. I listen to my whisper and know that I have to continue making my own dent in the universe. One person at a time. In doing so, my father continues to live.

Ignore the banter. Follow the whisper.