I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad this week. With Father’s Day coming up it’s hard not to have him cross my mind more than usual. Anyone that ever knew my dad knows that he was a one of a kind. He had the most wonderful personality and could make you just crack up at some of the things that he would come up with. There was never a time that us kids would bring a friend to their house that he didn’t make them feel welcome and immediately a part of the family. Looking back I still laugh when I think of the expressions on some of my friend’s faces when they would meet my dad for the first time and he would greet them with “hello (insert name) – do you live around here or ride a bull?” or “do you walk to school or carry your lunch?” I never knew what he would come up with next and not knowing what to expect from him was part of his charm. Most of my friends, as well as my sibling’s friends, loved to just sit and talk with dad because he was so funny and so friendly.
He had a heart that was more genuine than that of anyone that I know. He would never turn away a friend in need and I very seldom ever saw him lose his temper. He had a way of reasoning with people and just didn’t believe in arguing. I can remember the last few years that he was here with us he loved working in his garden and had one of the prettiest and most abundantly flourishing ones in the community. He loved giving people things out of the garden and in fact planted a second garden just so he would have enough to share the fruits of his labor with his friends or someone in the community. I can still see him there early in the mornings while the dew was still on the ground as I left to take the kids to school. I think that is one of my favorite memories of him.
Dad was one of the hardest working men that I know. He was generous to a fault and was the epitome of what God expects of us as His children. He loved to laugh and to make people smile and everyone who was in his company for any length of time he always managed to get a chuckle from them.
I had (and still have) so much respect for my dad for many reasons. One of those being that he stood strong for what he believed in and he didn’t compromise his beliefs. Whether it be on his stance against something or his determination to stand up for something; he didn’t falter. He believed what he believed and he told me so many times that if you compromise your beliefs then you aren’t passionate enough to stand up for that belief. He carried, read and taught from the King James Version of the Bible; he believed in protecting his family at any measure and he believed in working for every dollar that he earned.
My dad was my hero and I regret so much that I never told him just how much that I respected the man that he was and the morals and values that he spent my whole life teaching me. I took for granted those talks that seemed to last forever on the front porch swing. I never realized then how much he was teaching me until I found myself using his words of wisdom myself on my own children. He was so much more than a dad - he was a friend, a mentor and a role model.
There are so many things that I encounter that make me smile at the reminder of him. The smell of fresh brewed coffee, seeing someone eating corn on the cob with more on their cheeks than in their mouth or hearing a good ole gospel song that he would loved to hear.
I am a very blessed girl that I have such wonderful memories of such an amazing father. There are a lot of people who never experience having the guidance and love that I had growing up and I realize more and more the older I get how much I appreciate the examples that he set for me.
I know that I will never be the person that my dad was, but because God saw fit to bless me with having him as an example, I will always know the kind of person that I am supposed to be.
Happy Father’s Day Dad – I love you to Heaven and back!
