Keys from Dad

The key is to keep company with people who uplift you,

whose presence calls forth your best.

~ Epictetus

Some time around my senior year of high school, my dad handed over the keys to my first car.  A magic car it was!  An old brown Toyota hatchback  that had seen better days, bought for a whopping $100!  Magic because not only could it be started with any key, but the keys could actually be taken out of the ignition while driving and the car would keep running! 

As I was thinking of what to draw for my Father's Day post, I was thinking about the symbol of keys... how my Dad has been there to hand over important keys in my life... my first car, my first apartment (and all the apartments after), my education, my marriage.  But it's not the unlocking of the key that is not the most important thing my Dad has given me through the years.  Handing keys over has also a been a promise to  "be there afterward" --- when  I make mistakes or get in over my head in the place that was unlocked.  Helping me handle a car accident or a nasty landlord, a frustration in a relationship,  or a workplace conflict... these are the real ways fatherhood has been shown.. not just graduations and weddings and driver's licenses. 

To my dad and to all men who lend a hand in difficult times...

Happy Father's Day!

♥

This drawing is my participation in this week's Sunday Sketches hosted by The Blue Chair Diary.  Stop on by to see other sketches by artists today!