A Father's Day Reflection

As Father's Day approaches, I've been thinking about my dad.

Many of you may not know that he was the inventor of the Pounce Pad. He was a sign painter by trade and a very good one. He specialized in gold leaf and even represented the Sign Industry at the 1967 Montreal World's Fair. He held several patents and was always creating something, whether it was furniture, carvings, teaching tools, or inventions.

When people asked him how he came up with his ideas, he'd say he paid attention to what annoyed him. One day, his eye fell on the infamous "nasty bag" used to transfer patterns, and the Pounce Pad was born.

Growing up with him wasn't always easy. He had high expectations for himself and for his six children. I was number five, and we were both stubborn enough that we often butted heads. Looking back, I realize he was teaching even when I didn't appreciate it.

One memory stands out. After slipping on an icy porch and spraining his ankle one winter in Ohio, he was stuck at home with several of us kids during a snowstorm. He brought out lumps of clay, set a timer on the table, and started calling out animals and objects. We had to race the clock and sculpt whatever he named. Looking back, I realize he wasn't just helping us pass the time. He was teaching us to think, create, and stretch our imaginations.

Perhaps the greatest lesson he left me wasn't about inventions at all. It was about living a life of service. He believed in making things better, not simply making money. He believed in creating something that would outlive him.

Every time I see a Pounce Pad, I'm reminded that he did exactly that.

The older I get, the more I realize that fathers leave us far more than memories.

They leave us habits.

They leave us values.

They leave us the quiet lessons we didn't recognize when we were young.

A steady hand.

A strong back.

A willingness to do what needs to be done, even when no one is watching.

Long after the tools are put away and the years have passed, those lessons remain stitched into our lives.

This Father's Day, may we take a moment to remember the fathers, grandfathers, and father figures who helped shape who we are today. Their influence lives on in ways both large and small, carried forward through the lives they touched.

Many of us will be sharing quilted gifts on Father's Day. When I first began quilting, my parents would try to guess what the Father's Day gift would be. It was usually either a book or a quilted project of some sort. The time I remember as funniest was when they both were right - a book in a quilted book cover. 😂

My dad also taught me what a good man looks like, and I knew that when I met the future father of my children, I had found one. He is sorely missed every Father's Day.