Posted by
GeorgAnna
at
2:34 PM
On Sunday I gave a talk in church, following is an event Ruth remembered from childhood.
In my life I think our family has owned more than a dozen birds. And of all of those, none have ever died of old age. Most of them met their untimely deaths in the jaws of our cat. Well, Elaine had a canary that she really liked. He was a beautiful singer, very healthy and it seemed we'd finally bought a bird that we all liked.
Well,
Elaine was out of town and I was home from my freshman year at college for the summer. I decided to let her bird out for a few minutes to get some exercise. We did this once in a while, even though it was risky. So I put the cat out and vowed to my self that this time, since it was elaine's bird and she really liked it, I would be super careful.
Well,
the bird flew on top of a piece of furniture to roost and before long I had forgotten he was out. I went out in the backyard, not noticing the cat slipping quietly inside as I shut the door.
I hadn't been outside 2 minutes before I heard a scream and someone yelled out the cat's name. I immediately knew the bird was a goner. I ran inside and sure enough, he was already limp in the cat's jaws.
I took the bird and went into the basement and started to cry. I felt so bad. This was not the first bird I had lost due to my neglect. And here I was, holding this beautiful limp little bird in my hands, who just minutes before had been alive and singing. Elaine's bird!
I sat down there alone and cried for 20 minutes.
I finally took a big breath, held the bird softly in my hands and went out to the garage to find a shovel and box. Every time I would look down at this bird I would start to cry all over again. So there I was, stumbling around in the garage, blurry vision with a dead bird in my hands when Dad came out of the house.
He called to me but I couldn't answer. When he got close enough to realize what a mess I was, he didn't say anything. He walked up to me and took the bird out of my hands and put it softly in his pocket out of sight. then he just held me in a hug while I cried and blurted out how bad I felt, and how was I ever going to make this up to Elaine. I remember that hed idn't say much, and he didn't do much but hug me.
It was the perfect thing to do.. Exactly what I needed.
I didn'tneedany consoling or any pep talks. I justneeded the quiet strength of a Dad.
So afterI got allthe tears andhurt out, I washed my face, he got the car keys, we went into town and bought Elaine another canary I will always remember how Dad used actions, not words to make things better. Most people won't take your advise, some won't even take your sympathy, but not many will refuse a touch or a hug when nothing else seems to help.
I sure love you, Dad. I don't feel like I could have had a better father growing up. But believe it or not I learn way more from you now that I'mgrown and married.
You sometimes joke that the men in your family tend to die quietly at age 65 and you expect to do the same. Don't you dare plan to follow in your father'sfootsteps and die early. Do whatever you can to stick around here as long as possible. I couldn't stand the thought of life without you. I love you so much. Happy Father's day.
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