I listened to Bette Midler singing the above song. And all I could think about was how appropriate the words were on Father’s Day. My dad believed in me and my ability to accomplish anything, consistently encouraging me to find my own way, rocky as it has been and is at times.
But this song holds a double meaning for me. I used it as the basis of the eulogy I read for my mother when we memorialized her at her passing.
The dedication to my first novel, The Sausage Maker’s Daughters, sums it up perfectly:
For Mom, who made the field fertile with love.
For Dad, who exhorted me to grow!
But there was more. How could I be so lucky as to find a man to share my life with who was an extension of those lovely legacies. He too was part of that dedication:
And for Johnson, who loves me for all the wrong reasons.
You bless my life.
All the wrong reason may bear some explanation but briefly, it refers to his total acceptance of me as I am with unbounded love and support. One lucky girl here!
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