Happy Father's Day

As is typically expected, I called my dad for Father's Day yesterday. It was such a nice visit. Usually when I call home, I only talk to Mom, because Dad is at work. I get to see him every time we visit home, but there's often other people and things going on that also take our attention. So it was nice to take the opportunity to visit one on one again, and share with each other our lives and our testimonies. As I got off the phone, I was reminded of my visit with him back in April, when we went home for the weekend.

After planning to come up, we found out that Mom would be in Arizona for her uncle's funeral. Like we typically do, we left Friday and headed to Ava to spend the afternoon with Gabe's parents, then drove out to Ash Grove to spend the evening with James and Kelli, and then to Mom and Dad's to stay the night. I called Dad and told him we'd be in late and we'd just plan on visiting with him the next morning.

When we drove up to the house (I think it was around midnight), we could see that all the lights upstairs were still on. I thought it was funny that he had left so many lights on for us. Then as we walked in the front door, I could hear something in the kitchen. Dad was still up doing dishes, haha. So we came in and I sat down and started visiting with him. This was just two days before I was set apart as primary president, so I spent a lot of time sharing my experience with finding counselors. We continued talking, and eventually Gabe got tired and headed to bed. Dad and I ended up sitting in the kitchen talking with each other, just the two of us, for probably two hours.

It reminded me so much of being a teenager and young adult at home, and the countless talks we had late at night after I would come home from being out with friends. Sitting at home again, talking late at night with just the two of us, I felt like I was still just Daddy's little girl. And I treasured that feeling. I didn't care that I would probably be tired the next morning from staying up so late. Talking about life, about the gospel, and the lessons I was learning, and feeling such love, such a deep connection with my dad was more than worth it. It was a special moment I hadn't been expecting, but one that I knew would be held dear for years to come.

I think every one of my siblings has a special bond with both Mom and Dad, together and individually.We all know that we are equally loved, and yet because of the individual time our parents spent with us growing up - talking, counselling, congratulating, listening, guiding, commending, and teaching one on one - we also feel that we are especially and uniquely loved by them. "Sure Mom and Dad love all of my siblings, but they also really love ME." We all share common memories as a family that we hold dear, but we also each have personal, individual experiences with our parents that we hold alone. Moments that are testaments and reminders to us of how they have shaped and molded us specifically. Moments where we have felt our own personal, individual connection with them as father and son, mother and daughter, daddy's little girl, or mamma's little boy. Moments that taught us beyond a doubt how loved we are by them, how concerned they are for us, and how much they want us to be happy.

How grateful I am to have such wonderful parents to look to as examples of what it really means to be a mother and father. The idea of knowing how to raise children of my own someday is a little less daunting knowing that I can look to my own childhood for help. Their love and my relationship with them have helped me to better understand the love that my heavenly parents have for me. Because I could rely on them as my parents growing up, I know that I can trust and rely on my heavenly parents now. My life has been blessed beyond measure because of their love, their examples, and the one on one time they have spent with me. And what a blessing it is to be reminded of that because of a simple holiday like Father's Day.