I am usually a litle late in doing the things that should come naturally in line with my everyday life. I try to start my day off the same way each morning and if it takes a little longer to do a task then the next one suffers. But it does get done. That is what I call my daily routine. So it shouldn't come at a surprise that I do the same with days that are set aside to honor someone.

 Probaly, when you out there read this, Mother's Day will have passed and Father's Day is upon us ,or is coming up soon. Being a member of the Day family, I really can't just limit my praises to one over the other. My mother and father were the first Angels in my life here on earth. When I came into being, the two of them had already brought seven children into thier lives and now here I was the new kid on the block. There were four boys and three girls ahead of me, and here I was in thier eleventh year of marriage, and they had room for me. What a wonderful thing to happen to me.

 During my early years , Mom and Dad kept a close watch on me, and they kept me fed and clothed and warm, just like they did for all those before me. It wasn't long before they must of decided that I needed more company, because they blessed our family with six more children, four girls and two boys. We wound up with a family of fourteen children although God called several of them home at an early age. Mom kept all of us under her apron strings until she was sure that we would be ok by ourselves playing games or visiting with our friends. But she was always close enough so that if we needed her, she came running.

Can you remember all the times that your Mom was there to soothe you when you got that cut or bump? After cleaning the sore spot and wrapping it up, she then would wrap her arms around you and that made the pain go away. How about the first time you were in some sort of a play or presentation at your grade school, and you knew she was sitting there in the crowd and she was beaming with pride even though your part was very small? How about when you went out on your first date and she would stay up and wait to let you in the door? She wanted to ask how it went but she wanted you to be the one to talk about it. And the day that you were married and she stood there by your side while the picture was taken, she once again was beaming with pride. All of these are acts of love by your mother aimed at you.

I could talk about my mother and father all day long, because I love them very much. While you are young, you think that just maybe Mom and Dad are too strict, and maybe they don't love you, but this old man can attest to the fact that the strict rules that my mother and father made us abide to, were ones that were used with love for thier children. I can also attest to the fact that if you asked any one of the remaining Day children, if they thought that Mom and Dad were too strict, they would probaly say that maybe they were, but it was for our own good. I can also say that each one of them will tell you that our mother and father loved us very much.

And I also will say this and it is with truth, that I sure miss both of them very much. When I think of my father, I look back to the days when we didn't see him very much because he worked the swing shift at the mill and many times when he was at home we were in school and many times when he came home from work we were already in bed. That man worked very hard in his life in order to be the breadwinner in our family. I must say that there were times when he would go out with me and play catch,or throw the football to me. For a little guy, he was tough as nails. He never showed his real self to others because he was content to be in the background sitting with his coffee and his pipe, It didn't take much to satisfy that man I call Dad. Mom and Dad went through some rough times together but they stayed as one for fifty-three years before he passed away. Mom followed him two years later.

 As we go on with our lives, we continue to lose members of our families, and so we try to put away those items that will help us adjust to our losses. The memories of your parents and your brothers and sisters will always be there in your hearts and sometimes you need to bring them forward in your mind and look at the love that was there between father and mother  with thier children. And all the times that you were taken somewhere special by Mom and Dad, should be in your memory bank to look back on, so that you can pass it on to your children. Time is only a blink of your eye but it can be full of the best fun you ever had with your mother and father. The things that were a part of your life then can still be a part of your life now. But you have to be the one to preserve it. Pictures, and letters are the things that along with your memories, will take your lives and put them on display for those who will follow you.

As I stated before, I can't praise my mother without praising my father too. So I try to remember both on Mother's and Father's Day, because they deserve all the praise that I and my brothers and sisters can give them. Both of them rest now in the arms of The Great Father, awaiting the time when we all will one day be together again. What I say to each of you out there , I hope that your lives were as enriched with love from your mothers and fathers as ours was.  Many times I have watch the show about the Walton family and it sure brings back a lot of our memories of the Day family. I hope that our visit this week allows you to sit back and relive some great memories of your own. I like to look back with the thoughts of bringing them forward into our lives today but I know that those memories will stay in my heart with the hope that someone in the future can say that life in the old days must of been special. And you know what??? It was special. And it has been nice to visit with you today.