For many dads, they wake this morning to the sounds of little voices and pitter patter. Other dads anticipate being surrounded by their kids and grandchildren, sharing in laughter and in meal.

Many will mourn, noticing the wounds left by their deceased fathers, grandfathers and father figures. Others will wrestle with the impact and trauma of dads who did more harm than good.

I find myself, this Sunday morning, over 800 miles from my young children. Two flight delays later (and perhaps a few more in my near future), my hopes of being home by lunch shifted to baths and story time.

There is always tomorrow, and many days after, so I am left in a waiting pattern.

As a Mets fan, I journeyed back to 1986. Game 7 was initially postponed to Tuesday after a miraculous 10th inning rally (“gets by Buckner”) Sunday night. A Monday rain storm pushed the inevitable to the next day.

A joyous fanbase were left to wait for their celebration (there was no guarantee that they would win that final game, but there was a sense that fate was on their side- and against the Red Sox who would battle their ghost of the Bambino for another 18 years).

Today is my rainy Monday. A day of what could have been, is now a day filled with gratitude for all that was and is, and in anticipation for what will be.

I wonder, for others today, if they find themselves waiting as well. Waiting to meet that special partner to form a family, waiting for a child to be conceived or adopted, waiting for a reunion and reconciliation. Others wait to fill the hole left by death in the promise of what awaits us when our deceased will once again love us into being.

I will wait for tomorrow when I will feast with my dad and my kids. I will also wait for that day (praying it is after many more trips around the sun), when I will reunite with my grandfathers, uncles, mentors, spiritual leaders, and generations of men and women who courageously and faithfully lived and loved.

The champagne will flow tomorrow for this dad. Until then, a cup of Canadian coffee and cherished memories fill my stomach and soul.

Happy Father’s Day to all!