I hope everyone enjoyed a very happy Father’s Day. 

It is a more complicated day for many of us.I lost my dad more than twenty years ago, and still miss him immensely. He was the single greatest influence on my life. I was the firstborn, and you can guess by my name that they were expecting a boy. My mom tried to make it more feminine by adding -lyn so it became Troylyn. It made no difference to my dad, and soon everyone gave up and just called me Troy. People jokingly referred to me as the first son and when my brother came along, we worked side by side. Any job he would give my brother, he would give to me as well. He had total faith in me and never thought that my gender made me less capable. He would plant the seed, but let me develop things in my own way, and he was always my biggest supporter. He pushed me to keep trying, telling me that if someone tells you ‘no’, it just means they don’t have enough information.

This past Sunday, I watched Charlie with our boys, and know they are as fortunate as I was. So to all you great dads out there, and to the one I’ve shared these last decades with – thanks.

Cheers,