In several of my stories, I write about fathers: some are overprotective, and at times they can get cranky. All of them want what is best for their children.
This year, my husband, Randy, and I will visit his Uncle Elmer as a part of our Father’s Day activities. My husband’s father passed when Randy was eight, making Elmer the patriarchal figure in our family.
There’s a little bit of Elmer in every father figure I write. He is ninety-three, so he's a call it the way he sees it guy. In Home For Good, we see this side of him in Stanley. Stanley was the dad who offered down-to-earth wisdom.
“Have you tried the truth?” Stanley suggested.
“The truth?”
“That while you are good with farms, and logistics, and moving around a lot, you don’t know a thing about being in a relationship with women.”
When Brock didn’t take his father's advice to heart, Stanley created a humorous situation to make sure his son paid attention to the message. Elmer does that too.
In Meet Me By the Christmas Tree, he was the muse behind Marley Lane. Marley showed his sons how to be happily married through example. He was a hard-working man, who made decisions based on what was best for the family.
There’s a little bit of him in Sam in 452 Memory Lane. Elmer is competitive. Whatever game we play, he wins. He lays down his cards with a soft smile that says the game is over. He won.
I also used Elmer's tenaciousness in Sam. Elmer doesn't let us run away from our problems. With the gentle tone of someone who's seen some of the harsh winds life blows our way, he tricks us into talking our way through the issue until we have a workable solution.
Elmer is getting older, and he doesn’t move as quickly as he used to, but his charming sense of humor and calming presence are as sharp as the first day I met him–roughly twenty-five years ago.
So every year on this day, Father’s Day, I look forward to giving Elmer an extra dose of love. With that being said, I’m still going to try my best to beat his hand at crib.
What do you do to honor the father figures in your life? Share in the comments.
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By day she’s a school librarian. Once she’s left town, she drives down the dirt road to her home on the family farm and writes sweet romance stories. The characters and plot lines in Merri's stories are a mixture of real-life and her imagination.
•••
Brock made sacrifices for his military career. Love is at the top of the list. Now it’s time to build bridges he shouldn’t have burned.
Katie thought she was over Brock. When she reconnects with him at a high school reunion, she’ll need 20/20 hindsight of everything that went wrong to resist his let’s try again charm.
If that doesn't work, she has something or someone to remind her to guard her heart.
Or could that work in Brock’s favor?
There’s a reason why Brock is home for good. Read this heartwarming, small town, clean romance and find out why.
For a limited time, Home for Good is available for 99¢
Lyn Cote here~Great post, Merri. And so glad your husband had a good father figure. Priceless.
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