A Tribute to My Dad

Since today is Father's Day, I thought I would write a little bit about my dad for you to enjoy.
Here he is in one of my all time favorite pictures of him - he's holding Abby on her 1st birthday.
Top 10 Things I Learned From My Dad - in no particular order:

1. How to work hard - My dad is one of the hardest workers I know.  He taught me the value of working hard and taking pride in a job well done.

2.  How to do a job well - I think I inherited my perfectionistic tendencies from Dad.  If he is in charge of a job, then you know it will be done to the highest possible standard - even if it's just doing something "mundane" like cleaning out the garage.  You know that it has never been that clean "since the last time he cleaned it out".

3.  How to laugh hard - My dad has the greatest laugh in the world - it's quite contagious when he gets going.  I love to be stupid around him and make him laugh.

4.  How to laugh at yourself - My dad has a number of silly things he always says in various situations.  I've learned to imitate him and his sayings and beat him to the things he says.  It rarely fails to bring laughter.

5.  How to help others - My dad shows his love for those around him by serving them.  There are many things done in my house because Dad cares for and loves me.  I have built-in bookcases upstairs, new doors hung, dirt hauled in around the foundation of our house, not to mention the other projects we have planned to do together, and all the smaller little things he does all the time.

6.  How to be stable - Not much ruffles my dad.  He's the type of guy who will calmly go downstairs to talk to an intruder in the house in the middle of the night (true story).  He's not given to drama, but lends a steady, dependable, common sense, honest and down to earth approach to life.  People respect him because they know what they see is the real deal.

7. How to love Menards - if I ever need anything at Menards, I know to call dad and make a shopping date with him. His eyes light up with excitement when I mention a Menards trip with him.  He knows the store like the back of his hand (plus he's quite knowledgeable about what everything is for and if it's worth the money or not).  Sometimes he and Mom go there just to walk around and look at all the fun stuff.

8. How to love being with family - He loves time spent with family - even if it's something ordinary like asking Mom to come with him as he "fuels up" the machines for the next day.  I love when we come to their house on Sunday afternoons, when there is nothing on the agenda except to be together.

9. How to love music - my dad is a huge fan of southern gospel music.  I grew up listening to groups like the Cathedrals, Oak Ridge Boys, Bill Gaither, and scores of others.  My dad still loves to show off his latest album to his collection and share his current favorite songs with me.  I remember many, many family music sessions and sharing songs in church as a family.  Dad loves to get out his guitar and play along with all his favorites (which are too numerous to count). Southern gospel brings me back to happy growing up years when I hear it.

10. How to love God - Just like everything else my dad does, when he decides to do something, he does it with conviction and strength.  He is not wishy-washy about his beliefs.  While he may not be super vocal about his views, you know exactly what he believes by the way he lives out his life.  He is a true living testimony of the goodness of God. 

I'm super thankful to have a dad like I have.  I hope we have many more years to enjoy together!

Comments

  1. cldJune 17, 2012 at 7:46 AM

    Since your father does not get on the computer ...other than to read...I will let you know that it was very much appreciated..all the lovely thoughts...especially the lovely thought of MENARDS !!!!! Ha ! He thanks you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 19, 2012 at 9:37 AM

    What a beautiful tribute to your dad - he's a special man indeed! MomK

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Tribute To My Mom

I am undertaking a three week challenge as a way of support for my dear mother.  I would include a picture here of her if I could, but she would not appreciate that (though I do have permission to write this post) Years ago, as a wee little lass, she had the misfortune of contracting polio.  While she was able to regain normal function and led a very normal life for most of her years, polio has reared its ugly head once more in her life, this time in the form of post-polio syndrome.  Click here for a link to just what post-polio is.  For those of you who prefer a one sentence summary of PPS, it's mainly a continual weakening of the muscles that were affected when polio was first contracted - it can range from mild to quite debilitating.  My mom has been struggling with full blown PPS for a couple of years now.  There is really no cure at all, few medicines to help, just learning to listen to your body in what it now has decided that it can no longer do and trying to keep your activ
Read more

Triplets Nine Years Apart

Image
Aaron and I always comment that by looking at one of our girls, you've seen them all. Apparently, I had triplets nine years apart. Below are 20 different pictures of the girls at similar ages. See if you can figure out who is who. I tried to find pictures without obvious clues in the background (siblings, house changes, etc.), though if you look really closely and know us well you'll be able to pick up a few giveaways. Answers will be at the bottom of the page. No peeking! 1. 2. 3.  4.  5. 6.  7. 8. 9. 10.  11.  12.  13.  14.  15.  16. 17. 18.   19. 20.  How do you think you did? I am interested in seeing how my family and friends do on this challenge. Drop me a comment below and let me know how many you got right! Scroll down for the answers... 1. Ana;  2. Abby;  3. Abby;  4. Keilah;  5. Ana;  6. Abby;  7. Keilah;  8. Ana;  9. Keilah;  10. Abby;  11. Abby;  12.
Read more

Abby's New Look

Image
We've had a busy last week or so.  Here's some big news in Abby's life.  She lost her two front teeth. They came out about four days apart.  She truly lost the second tooth and wasn't able to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.  The tooth fairy apparently isn't as vigiliant about leaving money when there is no actual tooth to collect.  But after a few days, our tooth fairy remembered and finally slipped some money under Abby's pillow along with an extra quarter for having to wait so long for her to decide to show up.  At the same time, David had a tooth under his pillow for about three weeks waiting for the tooth fairy.  The tooth fairy finally had to visit during the day when he wasn't in his room, when she finally remembered to pick up the tooth.  It's hard on the tooth fairy to show up when David stays up later than the tooth fairy does these days.  Here's Abby's new look: She's also delighted with the fact that she doesn't ha
Read more