Cat (aka Rina) who blogs at The Juggling Act of Life, sent in this beautiful old picture of her with her late father, along with the story behind the picture.

My dad passed away when I was 7 and he was 45, from his 4th heart attack. He suffered from a bloodvessel disease all his life and lived after 3 heart attacks and an aorta transplant at 40 – quite radical back in the 70′s but off course, South Africa was the medical forerunners is the world – we did the first heart transplant.

I can not remember how his voice sounded – we have old home films, but off course there is no sound. I can remember his smell, his big kind hands and his scrubby cheeks. I can remember him playing games using heaps of imagination. I remember us painting together, playing with his model trains and building model cities. I remember small little vignettes, pictures from the past. I remember his size (he was 6 foot 7 inches tall). He was a great dad.

My mom jokes that she never had a child until after my dad passed away. Our personalities was a perfect match. I was so totally daddy’s little girl. My dad was also a keen photographer, as I am, therefore I have very few pictures of the two of us. Today I share with you my absolute favorite – this must have been somewhere between 1971 and 1973, ( me between 3 an 5) and I remember the place vividly. This was the farm of my mom’s cousins, Craigrossi, in Clarens, one of the most picturesque areas of South Africa. I just love the tenderness – this is how I will always remember my dad.

I try to make as manu memories for my kids, as many pidtures as possible so that one day, they, like me, have anly a few to choose from to remember their dad.

Thank you for sharing your picture and your memories, Cat.

Check out the other entries for our CIlla Bloom Fathers Day Giveaway here, and then submit your entry/ies here.