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By Kelly McCarty
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It's Springtime. WOOT
WOOT!
Here in Michigan,
April was a nice month filled with mostly good weather. Hopefully,
May will also be a good month. Margaret and I joined a gym this past
month. I am looking forward to working on my health and fitness in
the upcoming months and years.
Please share our
newsletter with other family and friends that might be interested in
reading it. I would like to welcome our newest subscribers, Pat,
Shannon, Charles and Sandra. Welcome to the family and to the McCarty Metro.
Writer Gary Jennings
said this: "Love and time, those are the only two things in all
the world and all of life, that cannot be bought, but only
spent." I love that. And HOW I spend my love and time is what
it is all about.
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My work and the McCarty
Metro require me to spend probably an inordinate amount of time in front
of a computer... At least according to my wife Margaret. She and I were
talking one day about death and funerals and what to do with each other's
remains. I asked. "What will you do with my body? Burial?
Cremation?" She answered, "I think I'll just have you stuffed
and propped up in your chair by the computer. That way when I walk by the room I won't even notice that you're gone." I got the point - too
much computer time. And how I spend my time and my love is all important.
The question I ask myself is this: "Do I generously and freely give
love and time away - and especially to those closest to me?"
There was a story written
about a father and son who decided to keep diaries. One memorable day, the 8
year old son recorded, "Went fishing with my father, the most
glorious day of my life." It must have been a glorious day, because
for the next forty years the son repeatedly mentioned it in his diary. It
became a life-long memory. His father also wrote about the fishing trip.
His own diary on that pivotal day for his son reads, "Went fishing
with my son; a day wasted." He didn't get it. That one single day he
generously and freely gave love and time away to the son may have been the
one of the most important days of his son's life. Did he feel that his
time was too valuable to be "wasted" with his children? History
seems to show that a fishing trip with his son paid huge dividends in his
life. I only hope I have and will spend love and time so well.
May is a month that we
commemorate some very important people. We celebrate both Mom, who gave us
life, and our fallen soldiers, who gave us our freedom. My final thought I
leave you with is a poem about Moms, and Families, and our brave Soldiers. Enjoy...
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Her hair was up in a pony
tail.
Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school and she couldn't wait to go.
But her mommy tried to tell her that she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand if she went to school alone.
But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.
But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home
But the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees. A dad who never calls.
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There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats
One by one the teacher called a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching for a man who wasn't there.
'Where's her daddy at?' she heard a boy call out.
'She probably doesn't have one,' another student dared to shout.
And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad. Too busy to waste his day.'
The words did not offend her as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.
And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique.
'My Daddy couldn't be here because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.
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And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so.
He loved to tell me stories. He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses and taught me to fly a kite.
We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him. I'm not standing here alone.
'Cause my daddy's always with me even though we are apart
I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart'
With that, her little hand reached up and lay across her chest
Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress.
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And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter who was wise beyond her years.
For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her, and doing what was right.
And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud.
'I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far.
You see he is a United States soldier, and died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy and taught us all to fear.
But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away.'
And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day.
And to her mothers amazement, she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children all starting to close their eyes.
Who knows what they saw before them. Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.
'I know you're with me Daddy,' to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers of those once filled with doubt.
Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed rose.
And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far.
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Take the time...to live and love... Until eternity. God bless, an
have a great month,
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