Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I know you all might not win the 'Father of the Year' award, but my hats off to all of you who do the best you can with all you have.
My dad wasn't the perfect dad. I don't think any parent is. There is so much learning on the job to ever get everything right. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dad loved me-even when I did crazy things...
Back in the day, when car seats and seat belts were not a thing, I would ride in the car either standing behind my dad while he was driving, or curled up in the back seat floorboard sleeping. My dad would get so annoyed with me when I would stand behind him in the car. For one thing, I wasn't ever very quiet. I would watch the gas gauge and when it got to where I thought it was low, I would repeat "we need gas" over and over again. Now, I would change it up and stress different words in the phrase, but it was the same three words over and over again. When my daughter got old enough to do the same type of thing, I took the opportunity to call my dad and apologize for being such a pain. We had a good laugh remembering those days.
Safe in my daddy's arms.
Growing up on the farm, there was always something to be fixed. My dad could fix anything. Okay, probably not, but it sure seemed like it. I loved to tag along and "help". One day, I forget what he was fixing, but it was my job (self imposed) to hand him either a nut or a bolt. Well, I named the bolts 'Brenda' after me, and the nuts 'Rita', after my sister. Every time he needed a nut he would say 'Rita' and I would laugh. Not sure how entertained he was, but he did play along with me.
Dad was always in a hurry. There was so much to do on the farm. He would walk really fast or even jog from one project to the next. I will never forget the sound of him hurrying. He would jingle- it was the pair of pliers that he always carried in his pocket that was making the noise. I have a pair of his pliers as a keepsake memory of my dad. I keep it on my desk. When life starts getting to me and there is more things than I know how to fix, I pick them up and hold them and talk to my dad. Not everything is fixed after that, but I feel stronger to tackle what is ahead of me.
Like I said before, my dad wasn't perfect -he had a temper. I think it came with being under so much pressure. His favorite saying was "Its always something". When things got really bad, my dad would string together a line of swear words and repeat them with a rhythm like no other person I knew. He was the original rapper! It scared me as a kid, but now I look back and smile. Not because he swore, but because of how predictable it was. I can still remember the saying and rhythm. Think of how much money he would have made now a days as a rapper!!
I could go on and on about my dad. Maybe someday I'll write more about those days growing up. They were fun, scary, sad, happy and about any other word you could come up with. Regardless, my dad was a hard working, family man that loved my mom, me, and my siblings.
Happy Father's Day dad. I hope you are playing my sweet dog Rosco in heaven. Miss you more than you know.
Back row- Mom, Dad, and my brother Ric Front row- Me and my sister, Rita.
Original posting date: 6-17-2020