my father, twice as old as me, can climb to the top of a branchless tree. just witnessing him, in itself, is — unbelievable, a miracle, breathtaking. agile and swift, in body and mind, he is (by a running leap!) the greatest inspiration to me.
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he is the man that swims in the frigid river on the coldest and bitterest of days. he is the only one. it doesn’t faze him. i watch him set off, cheerfully. a grin as wide as can be. ask him how the water is? ‘it’s 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩!’ he’ll reply, with such delight — in his genuine, hearty, heart-filled way.
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he is the solo man walking up the mountain every morning to the university. a 2-hour hike to teach, back and forth. his shoes are worn, but never his spirit.
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he is the smartest man i have ever met, and that, by quite some distance. sovereign in every sense of the word - a brilliant and independent free-thinker. a rare scientist, with a groundbreaking theory, contrary as it may be to the current way of thinking. he is the one that first taught me - through his remarkable presence - what it takes be free.
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innovative and honest, he is a pioneer that has lived through and thrived despite his place in history. and yet you won’t catch him telling anything about himself. it is hard pressed to squeeze much about him out of him. in conversation, he is always the one asking questions, filled with warmth and curiosity. he has the ears of an elder but the eyes of a child — open and intrigued, reverent and glistening.
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though what i find most remarkable of all — is his presence and devotion to his family. the small things i remember - like the way he adored my mother, supporting her fully as a stay-at-home-mother. how deeply he valued children and child-raising. admiring her and appreciating her work as ‘the most important job in the world.’
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and how he participated in that, every chance that he got, he spent his every minute home with us. every moment with a child is sacred to him. and he had five of us! in his eyes, we were always a blessing. in his words, ‘i am always learning’.
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every night of my childhood he would lay with me to sleep. he would tuck me in and stay for as long as i wanted and tell me story after story after story. i would ask him millions and millions of questions and to each, he would thoughtfully reply.
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he was always up for a new adventure. always engaged with the fullness of life. he learned from and beside the five of us, a myriad of new skills and knowledge.
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he would sit in my anatomy and physiology lectures while holding my baby brother on his lap. discussing what he learned afterwards with me, from his unique perspective of thinking.
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his fervent, insatiable taste for knowledge, his endless love of learning. his sharp intelligence, questioning mind, his reverence for the world around him. his complete devotion to his family and children. his warm and luminous presence. he gave us all the world and more. i will forever be thankful to him.
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we have certainly not always seen eye-to-eye, we have come head-to-head many times. but nothing has ever shaken the unwavering respect i have for him. as a father, mathematician, scientist, human being. extraordinary, in every capacity. he has had, by far, of anyone in my life, the greatest influence on me.
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so much of who i am is a tribute to my father.
and this i never tell him.
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so maybe it’s time for him to know?
oh, how i love you, daddy.

When my daughter was a baby, at northern Michigan.