MY DAD

Last week my dad was in the hospital for some tests and help with is breathing.  As you might expect, we were all a little worried (he is, after-all, almost 79 years old).  Fortunately, he checked out alright and has returned home to his little casita in Elfrida. 

Dad when he was young.

While this was happening I paused several times to think back on some of the things I remember about growing up with Dad.  Here are a few memories I have, in no particular order, of my dad as I grew up in his care. 

A few years after I left home.

  1.   Learning to drive that big Desoto when I was 12 so I could get mom places if she needed (she had problems and couldn't drive).  We went out into the forest in Flagstaff and he gave me a few lessons.  I could barely reach the pedals but I felt like a real big shot.

  2.  Dad used to take me with him, once in a while, when he was a salesman for a meat company.  One time we bought firecrackers and I was throwing them out the window at cars we passed.  As we passed one car I tossed the fireworks but they hit the door frame and came back in the car.  My ears didn't stop ringing for a week.

  3.  Dad didn't show emotion much but I remember him crying when he read a story that included the passing of his little sister Jane.  I was very touched by his love for someone who had been gone so long.

  4.  We always had the best garden in the neighborhood – even when we didn't have much of a yard in Flagstaff.  The neighbors were very jealous of Dad’s green thumb.

  5.  As a teen, I was not always the most intelligent person (I get it now but not then).  I was dating a young lady that was of good moral character but every night I was at her home (always with her family around) the phone would ring and someone would call out, “Mike, it’s your dad.”  I would go to the phone and hear the words, “don’t you think it’s about time to come home?”  It was extremely frustrating and embarrassing but looking back, I am very grateful because, even in my teenage brain, I knew that my dad loved me and was trying to help me be good.

Love Dad's smile!!

I love my father and have always looked up to him as an example of what a dad should be.  He encouraged me to be a man and was the guiding light for all that I have become as a father. 

Thanks dad and stay healthy so we can have you with us many more years.

 

Love Mike.