When I Put My Socks On

When I look at my feet, I think of my dad. He had long, thin toes. Mine are the same. You know the rhyme: “I’m a poet, and you should know it. My toes show it. They’re Longfellows.” My dad died nearly 20 years ago on May 14, an easy date to remember because it’s the feast of St. Mathias, Mathias being his middle name. It surprises me how many times I think of Dad—almost always at very mundane times like putting on my socks. Another mundane occasion involves putting on my necklace with the Notre Dame crucifix. Why? Because my first memory of Dad is the time he put a necklace on me before my picture was taken. Such little things connect Dad and me, but these incidents remind me of the connection I have with all who have gone before me, as well as everyone living now. The unity of the People of God united in God’s love astounds me. How blessed this reminder when I put my socks on!