Friday, June 19, 2009

My dad

As Father's Day approaches I once again am stymied as to what to get my dad. I'll figure something out in the next day or two, but in the meantime, now that I have officially joined the blogosphere, I feel it is appropriate to dedicate a blog to him!

The best thing I can say about my dad is how much I always respected and admired him; my goal in life was to earn his respect and to one day be a husband and father that modelled him. Dad was not the kind of father to yell and scream and threaten us; I rarely if ever heard my mom say, "just wait until your father gets home." However, when I messed up, all he had to do was look at me with resignation and tell me how disappointed he was in me. Those were the words I most dreaded!

My dad is a product of the generation that came before women's lib; I don't believe he shared equally in the domestic chores around the house. What he did do was to get up every morning and go to work (I don't recall him ever 'calling in sick'). He did this without complaint; in fact I remember many mornings when the teenage me would be up moping over breakfast and he would give me a cheerful 'Good Morning!'; I would mumble something back and he would scold me for being morose and disrespectful. He modelled a very strong work ethic, and he exhibited airtight integrity. My brother and sister and I have very different personalities, but we all work hard and keep our word - if Jeff or Lisa tell me anything, I never have to wonder if they are being honest with me. To be sure, our mother exhibited these same qualities, so we had a double dose of good role modelling to learn from!

I am sure that there are many fathers of my dad's generation that practiced strong work ethics and high integrity; the "more unique" (that's for you dad!) aspect of my dad is that he is unafraid to show love and affection. He and mom were always very affectionate; even after 40 years of marriage their love for each other was plain for all to see. All us kids learned from them, and on my best days, I try to model that (unfortunately I inherited the 'fiery' side of my mom's personality rather than my dad's serene demeanor!). He has never been afraid to hug his kids, to this day we hug each other when we say goodbye.

I am so blessed by the parents I was lucky enough to have! Dad, I love you more than I can convey in words. Happy Father's Day!

2 comments:

  1. First question--5:04 AM, really?!

    As your daughter I can say that you have definitely succeeded in emulating your dad. Some of those same things are exactly what I love about you. Even Michael has often commented on how impressed he is by your sentimentality and affection without embarassment. I have definitely told others that all you ever had to do was say "I'm disappointed" and I would crumble into a ball and never do whatever that was again. =) I feel lucky to have such an awesome dad and grandad who both share such awesome senses of humor, wonderful honesty, affection, and intellect! ...Your card is coming in the mail...hopefully it'll get there before Sunday but I just sent it yesterday so it may be a little late!

    I love you daddy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of the greatest honors a father can have is to have their children share what is shared above! That's awesome!

    ReplyDelete