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Why I Am Thankful For My Dad

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Why I Am Thankful For My Dad


With Father’s Day in a few days, I want to take an important moment to be thankful for my Dad, and for the roll that all good Father’s play in society. And why I make pictures of fatherhood, What I will say here I think about almost every day, though this time of year is set aside to reflect and to share.

I realize that I may go too deep for some of you to read this. I want you to know that I get it. That you have not the same experiences with your father as I have. Dad (plus a good friend or two) taught me that every person has a right to their opinion, and it should be respected if I expect the same treatment. ...

I have to say I learned more from my father after he passed, than from when he was living. Because most of what he taught was from example. Now through my own life experiences, I hear his voice and see his examples in my mind. Father’s have that kind of weight in our lives. If we are all honest with ourselves, what our dad says and thinks is most important to us.

Our mothers nurture us, and our fathers prepare us. I realize in our culture today the role of the father has become inappropriately minimized and, in some cases, ridiculous.


“When we are born, we have a longing in our heart for a father to be a hero. And when those needs are not met, we hurt, we ache, we meet with lots of pain, and if we don’t resolve it, we share that pain into our marriage relationship, into our parenting.”

-- Dr. Meg Meeker


I longed for both my mom and my dad while growing up, What I needed from dad I didn’t need from mom, and the other way around. Growing up in an Italian and German family, it was exampled that mom was the queen in the home (a house is a woman's nest, so to speak), and dad was the king out on the street (he took initiative and took care of his family).

That my father exampled great respect for people as a person, especially women, set the tone for our family and my life today.

In other words, because of dad's example, I appreciate how God created the beauty of a woman’s figure, however, I also see a woman as another mans daughter, and they should be looked in the eyes and respected as such. What this means is that, when a man leads his family and life with right perspective, everyone in the home and the community falls into place.

This is why in many of my pictures of fatherhood you see the men exampling stability, protection, hope, leadership, and spiritual guidance.

Speaking of spirituality and faith, it comes from both of my parents, but it was dad who really showed us kids the power of prayer. For example, every morning before my dad went out the door to work he would kiss the Crucifix at the door, and this was after he spent some time in the dark before the early morning light praying his rosary.

What this brought was the perspective that through our wins and losses in life, to take it all in stride, as there is a larger purpose for our experiences than just our own needs and answers. And, over time, God showed us answers to prayer that most people today could not wait for because of our instant gratification society.

Most of our true problems we cause ourselves, because of the decisions that we make or don’t. I’m thankful to my dad and mom for teaching me to have good judgement and common sense, and to have good character and integrity. Dad, more than mom, told people all the time in a polite way what he thought of them. So there was not guess work about his honesty and loyalty to you as a friend, because he always wanted you to be a better person than you are.

So, yes, my family and I have shortcomings, and looking at us from the outside it may seem that we are not that successful. True success is reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be. If we do our best, we are a success.

I hope by sharing these brief thoughts about my Dad that you some how are better for it.

Thank you for reading this, God bless you.


Frank J Casella,
Photographically Speaking
"Speak .... Without Saying A Word"

FrankJCasella.com

Licensing.FrankJCasella.com

Photo: 'Presence' - Black and White Photograph by Frank J Casella - A Father and Son go for a bike ride.

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