This is the weekend we honor our fathers, and what better way to honor mine than to share a little with you about the man. He was born the eldest out of 4 siblings during the depression. He taught us the value of a dollar. He taught us how to earn that dollar by working hard, and installed in my sisters and I a strong work ethic. I’ve never known anyone to work harder than my Dad. He just never stopped. He would work all day at the shoe factory, and come home to start working all over again. He repaired TVs, vehicles, appliances, mowers, electric motors and so on. I don’t think there’s anything he couldn’t repair. I can count on one hand the number of times he’s had something in a shop, if it was broke he fixed it. If he didn’t know how….he’d learn. My Dad is the smartest man I know.
Being around all that repairing, he taught us how to handle a screwdriver and a wrench. He would let us help tear down motors, wind armatures, help fix cars and help with home repairs. I’m sure we were in the way, and slowed him down more than we helped. But he never complained. Complaining isn’t something I remember him doing much. He was always happy, especially in the morning.
He is one of those people who just wake up happy. I remember him coming into our room and tweaking our nose or ears to wake us up. We’d grumbled and cover our heads. He’d go away for a bit and just when you’d doze back off, he’d be back dripping water on your face. He has an ornery streak! He’d finally get us up to have breakfast and then he’d be off to work, leaving poor Mom with 3 grumpy girls. J
My Dad taught us how to fish. Can you imagine fishing with 4 women? (Did I mention he has a lot of patience?) He taught us how to hunt. And yes, he taught us how to dress the game. Never something I enjoyed doing. But you didn’t argue with Dad because he also taught us respect.
Mom handled the day to day discipline, which meant we learned to take it with a grain of salt. But if Dad got involved….things got serious fast! If you got the giggles in church and Mom got on to you, it was funny. But oh my…when Dad would give you that “look”….nothing was funny anymore. We quieted down real fast. Dad also taught us about love.
I never questioned if my Dad loved me or not. I knew he did. He showed it in the hard work he did to provide for us. He showed it when he would go roller skating with us or bike riding. But he not only showed it…he told us he loved us. He taught us about God’s love as well. Retiring from the ministry was one of the hardest things he did.
I’m fortunate that my Father is still with us today. He’ll be 83 years old in July. He’s slowed down a lot. He still loves to tell a good story. He still wants to work and tries. And he still gives us big hugs when we see him. He has served his country, his family and God his whole life. At his age, his body has started to fail him which causes a lot of frustration for such a hard working man. But he won’t give up. He’s gave me so many wonderful memories, and I hope we have many more years together. I can honestly say I have the world’s best Dad!