Father's Day is only a few days away. I am prepared with gifts and cards to celebrate Scott. He is a wonderful husband and terrific dad to Sarah and Jaley. Earlier in the week, I sent cards to my father-in-law and our grandfathers. Just like Scott, they deserve a special day in their honor. But for the first time, I find myself without my own father at Father’s Day. My dad passed away just a few weeks ago.

So this week, I write my blog entry, not as a parent, but as a child. This week I celebrate my dad, Perry. I will not try to sum him up in just a few words, because I know that is an impossible feat. Instead, I will share some of my fondest memories of him and a few stories that his friends have shared with me along the way.

Perry was a funny guy, a happy guy. He loved people. He could shoot the breeze with anyone. Rich or poor, educated or not, it didn’t matter to him. He just loved good conversation. And for Perry, good conversation always meant telling a few jokes. His best ones were never G-rated. As a kid, I used to hide and try to catch a few of the ones not suited for young ears. He always knew I was there. Instead of shooing me away, he just toned it back to age appropriate until I got bored and left of my own accord.

Perry always loved life in spite of facing monumental loss - his mother, when he was only 9 years old; my sister, Laura, to cancer; my brother, Kevin, in an automobile accident; and his long-time companion, Sally, less than two years ago. It seemed to me that his passion for living came not in spite of the losses, but because of them – he truly understood how precious our time is.

In recent years, my dad’s health declined drastically. He was saddled with difficulties walking, a bum heart and bad ears. Although, he sometimes enjoyed the chance to just turn off his hearing aids and ignore life’s little frustrations. In spite of these, he kept plugging along enjoying the ride. As I made phone calls to friends about his passing, I learned that he had not only kept up with but talked to and visited regularly with people from every stage of his life: Childhood friends in Massachusetts, neighbors from the subdivision where I grew up and even his old boss. He kept in touch with more of the people in his life than who I manage to send Christmas cards to every year.

It was that love of people that made him such a great salesmen. He worked selling insurance to small businesses and individuals. It is an industry that, like many, has it share of bad seeds. He did his work with honestly and integrity. As a friend reminded me, it was because he treated people with respect that he succeeded during his 30-plus year career in sales.

Lucky for me, however, my dad knew that a career does not measure a man. He gave his all in the office (which for a salesman like Perry was his car), but he always knew that family and friends were more important. He would often leave for work before I woke in the morning, just so that he could be home to drive me to gymnastics practice after school. He tried to take make every Friday a half day, so that we could enjoy the start of the weekend as a family. And after a long career, he jumped on the opportunity to retire early.

Do not think my father was lazy in retirement. He was always ready to go and try something new. He absolutely loved sports. My dad’s friend, Bill, reminded me that my dad loved to dive from the rocks in the quarries up North. I’m talking high – 20 to 30 feet up. He played baseball his whole life. He was still playing softball and tennis until his knee gave out in his 50’s. When I was just a baby, he used to ride his bike in the evenings with me in back just so I could look up and shout “mooooon.” In his 40’s he even bought a skateboard, because it looked like just too much fun. The trunk of his car was basically a sporting goods store, full of balls, bats and mitts. I believe there were even hockey skates in there, just in case the opportunity arose (for the record we lived in Florida).

I look back over his life and how he fully savored each stage. After high school, he enjoyed his bachelor years renting cottages on Cape Cod and driving with the top down on his Corvettes. In 1964, he married my mom, Shirley. He loved our life in the Florida suburbs complete with the backyard pool. It was a busy time between work, house, marriage and kids. A million memories rush in my mind and they all bring a smile to my face. After my parents went their separate ways, Perry joined his life with Sally. They shared love and companionship for almost 20 years. My brother and I were almost grown, so together they enjoyed lots of time with friends and exploring the country on long road trips. In recent years, Perry was so pleased to enter the next stage of parenthood – the “grand” stage – with the arrival of his two granddaughters – Sarah and Jaley.

Just two days before he went to the hospital we had our last chat on the phone. We set plans and bought plane tickets for him to visit us in North Carolina. His last words to me were, “I love you, and kiss those girls for me.” It was the way he ended every phone call. How lucky am I to have had such a wonderful good-bye from my father. There are many questions in life, but I never questioned my father’s tremendous love for me. For that I feel truly thankful and it makes it so much easier to say goodbye.

This entry is a celebration of my dad and a perfect way to honor him this Father’s Day. I wish all dads a Happy Father’s Day. We children may not say it enough, but you are truly loved. More than you will ever know.

Gigi appears every Friday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Gigi at Stroller Lane.