William James Cunningham

My dad in Sicily, around the time I was born

I couldn't even begin to think how to best celebrate my dad's life, and to show how important he was to me, but I'm feeling inspired by the many touching and inspiring posts I've seen today.  

I don't often speak of Dad, which is no indicator of the influence he had on me, or the loneliness I have felt for him since his death. He was so special to me, so loved, that I think I take it for granted that everybody knows how low-key wonderful he was.

I look back at my dad with love and gratitude for his patience, his gentleness, his guidance, his generosity, his availability, and his willingness to help us learn.  I am still delighted with his love and extensive knowledge of puns, his cooking and shopping skills, his unusual walk, his inability to do anything with a hammer and for his taste in movies.   And in spite of the fact that I disobeyed him, I love that when I first talked of Dave, he said, " mmmhmmm, please remember---just because a man makes you laugh, you don't have to marry him."

Being a good dad was part of being a good man, a good soldier, a good husband, and I can only hope that I made it clear to him that I finally figured that out, and how I admired him for it.