“Daddy’s hands were soft and kind when I was crying,
Daddy’s hands were hard as steel when I’d done wrong,
Daddy’s hands weren’t always gentle but I’ve come to understand,
There was always love in Daddy’s hands.”
- from “Daddy’s Hands” by Holly Dunn
My father is a carpenter by trade. I love sitting and watching him shape wood into whatever he dreams up. When we were little, we’d love to spend winter days in my Dad’s wood shop watching him work. He always let us “create” whatever we wanted beside him out of wood from the wood pile. We’d hammer and saw right along with him. My children have the same memory as Poppa always makes time to create a little something out of wood for the kids – from swords, to airplanes to a sailboat!
When I heard this song by Holly Dunn, it immediately made me think of my Dad’s hands working with wood. I love watching him shape something out of nothing! In honour of Father’s Day, I am posting this image of my Dad doing what he loves best.
Thank you to all of the wonderful fathers that I am blessed to have in my life: Daddy Don, Brian, “Grandpa Great”, and “Grandpa Darrell”, and to those that I no longer have but who’s memories continue to keep them close: Uncle Art and Uncle Ken.
