Carpe Diem (seizing the day with my dad)

Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. It’s one of my daddy’s favorite sayings ever since viewing one of his favorite movies, Dead Poet’s Society. I reminded him of it yesterday in our visit together. I’m not sure if he remembers the movie, but he remembers the shirt. Even more so, he remembers the sentiment; daddy always wants to seize the day even as he struggles to remember what day it actually is.

Dad loved that movie; I think he saw a lot of himself in Robin Williams’s portrayal of John Keating, an unconventional teacher who used poetry to inspire his students to greater heights of expression and creativity.

Like Keating, my daddy is known for his story-telling. “One of the best” they say. Sometimes his stories are hand-made; sometimes, he borrows from others. As a child, I assumed everybody’s dad had that same capacity to spin words into magic. It never occurred to me that his ability was, in fact, a unique gifting from God. Over the years, I’ve come to realize and appreciate that uniqueness about my father, especially now when his words have started to fade.

These days, daddy doesn’t tell me many stories; instead, I’m telling them to him.

“Daddy, remember when …?”

Thankfully, he still does to a degree … remember when. He simply needs a prompt or two or ten therein. Eventually, we get there together, to a memory that brings the old sparkle back to his beautiful blue eyes. And when that happens, the magic returns; for a few minutes, I’m able to set aside my new role as a care-giver in exchange for my old role as simply a child of a story-teller.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

Life shifts like seasons.

Winter’s retreat. Spring’s new. Summer’s heat. Fall’s release.

A cycle of transformation. Sometimes swiftly; sometimes more slowly. Almost always, simultaneously.

Moments have the capacity to hold so very much – a full cycle of seasons that grow a heart in all the right ways. And maybe, in the end, that will be the greatest story ever told –

a heart transformed in all the right ways by a full cycle of seasons.

Indeed, very magical.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

So…

Thank you, Daddy, for telling me your stories – for capturing shifting seasons with just the right words. For doing so with flare, with imagination, with sparkle, and with understanding. For seizing the day, the moments in so many rich, “Chuck Killian” kinds of ways. You’ve come full cycle, living the words you’ve spoken … a heart transformed in all the right ways.

“One of the best,” they say.

One of the best, I know.

In the end and by God’s grace, I hope to hold one too –

a great story of my own … a heart transformed in all the right ways. 

I can’t think of a better legacy for either one of us to leave.

Let’s keep telling stories; let’s keep seizing our moments. Let’s keep walking home together.

The best is yet to be. 

I love you, 
Lainse

9 Responses to Carpe Diem (seizing the day with my dad)

  1. This is so beautiful. It is hard to watch our parents decline and to become the ‘parent of our parents’. I am praying for you, Elaine, and for your Daddy. Keep telling the stories, friend. You are making a difference.

    • Thank you, friend. God is with us, continuing to give us his grace for each new moment.

  2. Beautiful Elaine. And yes, you are leaving a legacy of using God’s gift of words to spread His Word. Comforting, encouraging, bringing people to a real, intimate relationship with Jesus.

    • Awww, that is such a blessing. I love that we’re reconnected; interestingly, I’ve also reconnected with my 2nd grade teacher. I wonder how many more of them are out there? Peace, Mrs. Welch. You’re the best!

  3. This was so precious, Lainse!! Yes, my friend, never stop telling the stories God has given you to share. You have such a poetic way of making sense of things that sometimes make no sense… like roles reversed at the end of days. I celebrate with you the beauty of a father/daughter relation (earthly and spiritual) that leads us each on the pathway home!

    Choosing Joy,
    Stephanie
    Psalm 126

    • You’re a gift. It’s been too long since we’ve connected. I’d love to catch up sometime.

  4. wifeforthejourney:

    This is a wonderful piece of writing; great remembrance as well as a celebration of today. Thank you for encouraging us all in this season of life. You continue to honor your father and mother, even as you demonstrate your love and devotion.

    Yours is a faithful “Carpe Diem” of days past and today! Thanks for letting us tag along with you and your dad on your continuing journey as father and daughter.

    Love, Billy

  5. Memories of your dad make me smile–his wit and interest in others were among the positive qualities that drew people to him. LOVE that picture of the two of you together; taken not too many years before we knew your family!

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