The View From a Different Window: ~and my life has been made better by knowing you all~

My father came to me in my dreams last night. I never really saw his image, yet I knew that he had been there. He died in 1982, just a month shy of reaching his 60th birthday. Lung cancer, not his very serious heart trouble, took his life on the 11th day of December that year. I vaguely remember his voice but I have never forgotten his wonderfully kind heart. I loved my dad and still do today.

In my dream, I saw his custom cutting equipment. Each and every piece of it was lined up on the roadway. Strange, it was exactly the same as it was back in 1977 when he took his last harvest run through the Great Plains states. There were 4 old L2 Gleaner combines along with a 1976 International Harvester one. Not sure where all the wheat trucks were, but at the tail end of the combines were his old 1974 blue service truck that he always called the "ton job" and the trailer that he hauled along to live in while he was gone. Everything look old, as a matter of fact it looked as old as the years that have passed since 1977.

I wish I would have seen my dad, but sadly he was no where to be found.

You know, I hardly ever dream of him any longer. At first when he passed away, I thought of him so much in my nightly slumber. Then as time went on and things got better, only once in a while would I dream of him. It's been ages now since it happened to me and normally with such an unusual dream, I would wonder why it happened. This time I don't have to wonder.

This time I know.

Mike and I like to get out and drive sometimes. We love to see the sights and discover the new places that we've yet to come across in nearly a year of living here in Texas. This past weekend we had gone over to Wichita Falls for something and as we came home, I noticed how beautiful and lush the fields of wheat were looking. That wheat will soon be ready to harvest come summertime and I guess when I saw it, my mind went back to the time when my own father was here in this very area to harvest it. My heart was so happy to realize that we would be able to see it head out, ripen and be ready for the combines to cut it. When we lived in Colorado, I missed that so much.

One thing my dad always spoke of was how rewarding it was to have met all the people that he did as he spent nearly half of the year on the custom combining circuit. John Scott, Jr. never knew a stranger to begin with and all he had to do was meet you and shake your hand. From that point on, you were friends. He was thankful for the chance to be a custom cutter and even more grateful to have made the many friends he did along the way. I'm sure if he were here today, my dad would say that knowing them all had made his life even better.

I am a great deal like him.

Last night I was visiting with a dear friend back home in Kansas where I am from. We talk as often as we can to keep up on the news on how everything is going for their family and mine. Last night I remembered to tell that friend of mine how much I appreciated our friendship. I realized that having such a friend had made my life so much better in the nearly 6 years since we have known one another. If you are reading this today, then the same should be said for you. You might not realize it, but the truth is this.

My life has been made better just simply by knowing you.

I don't remember to say things like that nearly enough. I get busy, stressed out, too tired to say anything, preoccupied with worry, and just plain forgetful at times. But I am saying it to you all today. Thank you for being my friends, not just for now, but for all the times of our lives. Just like my father knew about all of his friends, knowing you all has made the difference for me.

For the gift of your friendship, I'm beholden.