Homer C. Gomez
What's His Legacy?
I get emotional when I write about my Dad. Simply adding his picture here caused tears to run down my face. I miss him so much!
There are so many things he taught me that I still use to this day. The most incredible thing about this man to me was what his passion, laughter, and drive created in me. It created passion in me that gives me strength, even to this day.
If I wish I could do anything well, it would be to love rightly and deeply. I was a daddy's girl. He loved me and cared about my safety. He protected me when he needed to. Once I moved away to college at UT Austin, and would come back home to Victoria to visit, he would greet me with a laughter and smile that was contagious. When he knew I was coming, he would ask me what I wanted him to make, and cook it so it would be ready when I arrived. I can still smell the soup he made and I can feel the tortillas in my hands. I can recall what he looked like in the kitchen, back to us, cutting meat or making tortillas at the window.
He watched me graduate with my degree from UT, witnessed me get married, and was waiting patiently to come in and visit when I had my daughter. What I wouldn't give for him to have met my son...
Once I had a new home, he would visit and knock on the walls to see if they were strong and safe for me to be in (haha). He would inspect things around the house to make sure they were working properly. For a short time, approximately 18 months, he was able to greet my daughter home the same way when we would go home to visit. He would pick her up and kiss her, and call her beautiful.
He taught me not to cheat myself out of learning a good lesson. He taught me to reap every piece of wisdom I could grasp from my mistakes. Sometimes he would point them out like a coach (ok, often he would), but sometimes he left it up for me to see for myself. Once the disciplinarian duties were done, he was relaxed with me, and just appreciated me for me.
My son hears stories and uses pictures to get to know his Grandpa. Although he isn't here physically, his legacy lives on forever in me, and in the family he raised. He was such a strong figure, as most strong men are. I wish I could still capture a portrait of him as I remember him - a huge smile and boisterous laughter, sitting in a recliner and looking up at me as I entered the living room, but it lives forever in my heart.
If I could give advice to anyone who loves their family, it's "Don't wait to take their portraits or write your memories down.". It's not easy convincing them sometimes that they need to have their portrait made, but the payoff and memory is so worth it. Father's Day is a special time for me, because it gets me thinking about my own dad. The fact that I wish I could do these things for him make doing it for others even more special for me. I get to do this work so families can enjoy their fathers through the memories we create together. There's no better payoff for me to leave behind, as a part of my father's legacy.
Learn more about the Father's Legacy Portrait Experience
