A Message From My Father

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Abstract

ure in fools; fulfill your vow</blockquote>I was well practiced in keeping my word, but honestly finding this note took it to a whole new level.I was the only child born to a loving mother and a very stern father. He was old fashioned and they both had me late in life. They were old enough to be my grandparents. It was a surprise. They had given up on trying. They formed a club with others who could not conceive. One day shortly after the club was created, my mother thought she was ill, but discovered she was pregnant.They were super strict parents and the fall season always signaled the end of summer freedom and the beginning of “better bring home an A.” Education meant everything to them. Keeping my promise (my word) to do well was built into my daily life.<blockquote id="ed79">The falling leaves meant “head down, books open.”</blockquote>On the

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day my father died he was seventy-two. My mother’s sister came to the house. She was much older. My mother was in her seventies and Auntie was in her eighties.I remember her deep somber words about the fall season and death:<blockquote id="b1c6">“Yes the sap is going down.” (A reference to the slowing of sap running from the trees.)</blockquote>My father and mother were revered by our community for their care and civic consciousness. They practiced what they preached. Decades have passed since their deaths, but I still experience that daunting feeling at the end of summer when Fall begins. I have to remind myself that I finished grad school and don’t have to fear the beginning of the semester or my parents looking for A’s. I catch myself and chuckle a bit and then I remember the note I found.“God hath no pleasure in fools…. keep your word!”</article></body>

Dancing Elephants Press Fall Contest 2023

He died in the Fall.

The funeral home returned his pajamas in a big clear plastic bag. I don’t know why I did this, but something told me to check the pockets. I found a note.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: Ecclesiastes 5:4

MIT translation: When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow

I was well practiced in keeping my word, but honestly finding this note took it to a whole new level.

I was the only child born to a loving mother and a very stern father. He was old fashioned and they both had me late in life. They were old enough to be my grandparents. It was a surprise. They had given up on trying. They formed a club with others who could not conceive. One day shortly after the club was created, my mother thought she was ill, but discovered she was pregnant.

They were super strict parents and the fall season always signaled the end of summer freedom and the beginning of “better bring home an A.” Education meant everything to them. Keeping my promise (my word) to do well was built into my daily life.

The falling leaves meant “head down, books open.”

On the day my father died he was seventy-two. My mother’s sister came to the house. She was much older. My mother was in her seventies and Auntie was in her eighties.

I remember her deep somber words about the fall season and death:

“Yes the sap is going down.” (A reference to the slowing of sap running from the trees.)

My father and mother were revered by our community for their care and civic consciousness. They practiced what they preached. Decades have passed since their deaths, but I still experience that daunting feeling at the end of summer when Fall begins. I have to remind myself that I finished grad school and don’t have to fear the beginning of the semester or my parents looking for A’s. I catch myself and chuckle a bit and then I remember the note I found.

“God hath no pleasure in fools…. keep your word!”