My Father's Son

I recently have been thinking a lot about my father. I don't know if it had more to do with my turning 50 or that Father's Day came and went. My father passed away about 3 years ago and I am still adjusting to him not being around. So I have been asking myself am I my fathers son?



I really never looked that much like him, I resemble my mother. My brother looks more like him than I do! I never had the drive or ambition he had. Again, my brother has the drive to succeed. My aunt recently ask me where I came from as it seemed I had been cut from a different cloth. Mannerisms, maybe a few. I do get frustrated easily as he did.



So other than unseen chromosomes what makes me my fathers son? I would like to think I have his heart. See he truly loved life, the living of life. He loved his friends and was a trusted friend. One of his best friends said he would count every stroke on the golf course even when it was just for fun with friends. He was a great father even though he didn't have a great father. My father loved his church and its members. He deeply cherished my mother, and would always say that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. He never forgot or was too busy for an anniversary or birthday. Most of all he loved his Lord. He felt that God had spared his life during WWII and he would spend everyday as though it were a gift to be treasured.

So where does that leave me? I pray that I can be half the man that he was, half the father, half the husband. We will see.

Restorer of the Ruins

The motto Instaurator Ruinae claims its origins from Robert Forsyth II who became feudal Barron of Dykes, first lord of Castle Dykes which resided in Lanark County, Scotland. The castle was originally built around 1350. When the English invaded Scotland and set about to destroy the walls of Dykes, the king called for someone to stop the raid until he had time to mass his forces. The Forsyth clan volunteered and legend has it that where there once stood a wall there now stood a Forsyth. The English were held then repelled. Later the motto Instaurator Ruinae was approved or granted to the Forsyth’s of Scotland for their services at the battle of Dykes.