Tuesday was my dad's birthday and I missed saying anything about it. I have been having a hard time getting here.... But, my dad is so amazing I do need to say happy birthday to him! He has been such a great example for me.
I have to say, I have always been somewhat of a Daddy's girl. I remember wanting to be with him all the time, no matter what he was doing. Cleaning out the garage, watching football, doing yardwork, going on drives, camping, going on wild goose chases....
The wild goose chases were fun. Keep in mind, this was before anyone really cared about seat belts... Dad would drive, and we would lay the front seat all the way back. Lyndall would sit in front, I would sit just behind her with my legs straddling her, and Jeff would sit behind me the same way. That way we all got the front seat. :) Then we would go for a drive, and we would take turns choosing which way to go at each intersection. Quite a few times we planned it out in advance to end up at iceberg on 3900 So and 1100 East. We knew if we made it there, Dad WOULD stop and buy us an icecream cone. Other times we would just drive, and no matter where we ended up, the four of us had a great time together.
Dad has taught me a lot about honesty and integrity. Doing what is right, because you know it is, not because anyone else will know. Two of the most memorable examples of this both happened right around the same time, in fact, it may have even beeen the same trip... Dad worked as a geologist, so his summers were spent out in the mountains, and every once in a while, he would take one (or more) of us kids along. This particular trip involved the three youngest kids, Lyndall, Jeff, and myself. We were camping out in southern Utah, and we had finished wht needed to be done. Dad wanted to stop on our way home to show us a beryl ruby mine he knew about. He told us that if we found anything at all while we were at the mine we would stop in Delta and take it to the owner of the claims. We looked around for awhile, and then all of a sudden Lyndall was pulling on my arm and telling me to look up. I did so just as a man started yelling that we had ten seconds to explain what the &*#% we were doing there before he blew our heads off. I took him VERY seriously as both he and the man standing about 20 feet away from him were both holding rifles aimed at my dad. In an extremely calm manner, my dad told him he was a geologist that had been working on some nearby claims, and he just wanted to show us the ruby mine. Then he asked us to tell the man what he hhad said. When the three of us simultaneously told the man my dad had said we would take anything we found to the owner in Delta, he called off the other guy, and they both put their guns down to their sides. had my dad not been a man of integrity, that situation could have turned out VERY differently!
On our way home from S. Utah (it may have been the same trip, but we took a lot of trips so it might not have been...) Dad discovered we had one headlight out. He drove home with his brights on, but he was concerned about the other drivers. Whenever another driver approached, Dad would pull over to the side of the road and turn his lights back to nomal so as not to blind the other guy. It was about 2:00 am when he pulled over to the side of the road less than a mile away from our house. A policeman pulled over behind us and asked my dad what he was doing. Dad told him he was tired and just needed to take a break for a minute, and the cop wanted to call someone to come get us. When dad told him we were just a few blocks away from home, the policeman told him to be careful and sent us on our way. We got home and went to bed, and though nothing of the whole experience, until my dad came to us in the morning. He gathered the three of us, and had a talk with us about the previous night's experience. He was almost in tears as he apologized for having misled the policeman. Even though technically it was true, he was tired and wanted to rest for a minute, his motivation was really avoiding a ticket for having a light out. That made a huge impression on me. If my dad was so upset over a half-truth, honesty must really be important.
Now that I'm an adult, and a parent, I appreciate even more all the things he taught me. All the times he let me help, whether it was with dishes or sheetrock, when it would have been easier andfaster to do it by himself. The care and patience he always showed me, and that he now shows to my litle girls. Not only was he a wonderful dad, he is an amazing grandpa! My girls absolutely LOVE spending time with grandpa. And he takes the time to make them all feel special. I could go on and on, but it is now 2:00 am, and Jonathan is finally back to sleep, so I am going to bed. I just want to say I LOVE YOU DAD, Happy Birthday!
1 comment:
Tell your dad happy late Birthday from us.
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