Guest Dad Joe Burris is back with this Father's Day Friday post:

On a Saturday morning two weeks ago, my four-year-old daughter Onalenna woke me up and sung a wonderful rendition of “Happy Birthday” to me. Then she asked, “How old are you today, daddy?”

I smiled and with a choking voice replied, “I’m 47, Sweetie.”

My daughter looked at me puzzled, as if to wonder what about age 47 seemed to trigger so much emotion in me.

The truth is, I’ve been thinking about this birthday for a long, long time.

I am now the same age my father was when he passed away. I was 15 at the time; he died suddenly from complications following cyst removal surgery.

When you’re 15-years old and your father dies, you come to realize how many personal milestones occur after 15: Obtaining a driver’s license. Attending your prom. Graduating high school. Graduating college. Landing your first job. Getting married. Having children.

And you grow up to be a father mindful of the need to embrace all of your children’s milestones, before and beyond 15.

But in the days following my birthday, I’ve spent much time wondering about the father I will be -- and the quality of life my family will have -- should my own years extend well beyond that of my father. Namely, I worry about all my worries, the things I can control and those I cannot.

I thought about this last week when I was at a restaurant in my hometown of Florence, S.C. I befriended a 78-year-old from Upstate New York, a warm, sagacious man who was clearly enjoying his twilight years. As we talked about the ups and downs of life, I told him I had recently celebrated my 47th birthday.

“What are the three things,” he said, “that you must take care of in order to live a whole, complete and happy life?”

With each thing I mentioned -- my family, my faith, my finances, my responsibilities -- he smiled and shook his head. “No, you need to take care of the other three things in order to take care of each of those.”

Finally I gave up.

“Well,” he said, “the first thing you need to take care of is your health, and not just the health of your body, but that of your mind and your spirit.

“The second thing you need to take care of is your time, always use it wisely.

“And the third thing you need to take care of is your destiny. Some people call it your luck or your good fortune. But I call it your destiny.”

I’d consider that sound advice at any age.