Changes in Latitudes.....

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It's Sunday night, Father's Day and I'm in Weyburn, Saskatchewan about 1-1/2 hours away from the US border to N. Dakota. It's just about midnight here and I've just received an email from Heather & Brett with a letter attached for me for father's day and I still have tears in my eyes. On top of that, Field of Dreams is on Bravo and I'm crying as I always do when Kevin Costner plays catch with his dad. All of you baseball people friends can identify with that. It never crossed my mind when I left for this trip that I wouldn't be home for father's day and now I feel a little guilty that I'm not home.

I've made some pretty good ground today, though. I've put on 680 miles since Whitecourt, AB. It's funny, but I kept thinking that hey, I'm near Edmonton and I'm pretty close to home. Weird, almost 2,000 miles to go. If I was at home and you asked me to jump in the car and drive to Edmonton, I'd have to think about it for a while. Anyway, I've now logged about 8,200 miles. (just a guess, since the GPS is out in the car and my memory is failing me a bit) It started raining when I left Whitecourt and it rained buckets for over 400 miles!

This is huge country. It's like Illinois times 50 without the corn. I almost kept pushing for ND tonight, but for a change I used my better judgement and stopped here for a good rest. That caffeine will make you want to keep going some times!

2 more days to home.


Here's the letter that Heather and Brett composed for me for Fathers Day:

Dad, we’re proud of you.

In case you’re wondering what you’ve done to make us so proud: It was no accident that my dad turned out to be so good at this fatherhood thing. He learned from good people. My grandparents instilled the right values in their children like their parents before them. They weren't a rich family, but they had a wealth of love.

Dad took what he learned about life and being a father and improved upon it.
He, like most good parents, only wanted more for his children than he had himself. Our dad gave us just the right mixture of discipline and unconditional love that every child should receive.

My father is a real man's man. He is intelligent and as honest as they come. His personality is charming, his will is unstoppable and his sense of humor will leave you in stitches.

Good dads make time for their kids. Even with working full time and traveling, working around the house and everything else that comes along in life, our dad still got it done. He still managed to get us to all of our baseball and softball practices and lessons and games on time. This is our dad.

My family spent a lot of time doing fun things together. Snowmobiling all winter, white sox games, Bulls games, vacations to Niagara Falls and Cooperstown, Florida, California and Texas.

This is a person who truly gets joy through seeing other people's happiness. This is an unselfish human being. This is our dad.

He has always been committed to us since Day One. He has never slighted us or shunned his responsibilities as a father.
We have been provided everything needed to be a good human being and have had the privilege of learning the art of being a good parent and good person from a true master. This is our dad.

We know it wasn’t always easy, that along the way, you had to sacrifice for our benefit. Thank you for everything, for every time you chose us, or chose to do something with us in your mind.

We know we can’t know what life will bring. Here today, gone tomorrow. That is life. It is what it is. We know Bobby loved you with all his heart, same as we do and always will. He’s smiling down at you now, can’t wait to play a game of ball with you, can’t wait to give you a huge long hug when he gets to see you again.
All three of us are so proud of you.

We love you, dad.

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Photos

Saskatoon
Don't you love that name?

Grain Elevator
Typical of every town in these parts, but this one really caught my eye.

Moose Jaw
I've always loved this name. Wonder where the rest of the moose ended up?

Comments

[Mr. Puggle]

Happy Father's Day
You will always be their father no matter what state any of you are in! :)

[Snowhawg]

Happy Fathers Day
Thanks again, Jen. Happy belated Fathers Day to all you Dads out there.