With the passing of my father, I took stock of what this man taught me, and I realized how blessed I was to have had him. Good and bad, he taught me the following:
* Love nature, the farm, and livestock, and be the best caregiver to it all;
* How to tie a tie, that I tried to pass onto my two boys;
* Not smoke cigarettes, because it robs a man of movement, wealth, and health;
* How to cherish singing bass in church and the love of singing in general. How proud I was to sing with him, side by side, “In Christ There Is No East or West”;
* How humor can carry a man through almost anything and cause a smile on the face of those who are unhappy or angry;
* A strong work ethic that one does the job until it is actually done, then let it go;
* On the flipside, work is not everything and a Dad has to play and interact with his kids, cause ya only get one shot at it and when it is gone, it truly is gone, sorry Dad, I gave to my sons my time;
* You can work at a hard, hot, dirty factory job that provides for your family, then use the surplus to work at something you love and that is your very own and defines you, i.e. the farm.
* Though a marriage can have pitfalls and pain, sticking with it, working at it, and loving in it, is how a man makes it work.
* Tussle and spank your sons no matter how old they think they are on their birthdays, bull to little bull;
* Being there for your son when times were really tough and scary, and giving me strength in knowing you were there, like pulling me in the crux of your arm and holding me after I crashed and totaled the family car or when I was going through a divorce and totally lost emotionally.
I could go on Dad, but all is I can say it thank you and that I never said I loved you enough. I am truly sorry for that, but I know, we know, we loved each other. You did a great job, and God blessed me with you.
