Tomorrow is Father’s Day and there will no doubt be lots of celebrating and gift giving and cookouts and just plain ole fun! It’s a day where Dad is king and everyone tries to make him feel special…at least I hope you do! My dad died when I was 17 so I won’t be celebrating with him but I will celebrate him! He was a wonderful dad and blessed me with a wonderful life…because I knew he loved me…and my brother and sisters! We had a very special family because he was a very special dad… or “daddy” to me.
I was driving home from my mom’s tonight and wondering what my blog post for Saturday might be about. I thought I’d just make this a simple Father’s Day post because I know everyone is busy shopping for food to make his favorite cake and BBQ ribs and getting presents wrapped or making reservations at his favorite restaurant. There’s lots to be done to make the men feel special.
I was thinking to myself, what was my favorite thing about daddy? I thought about it all the way home and realized it was his smile. He had a gentle smile. I don’t exactly know what that is… but he had one!
Now you probably can’t see his smile… but I can! He smiled with his eyes! I loved his smile…and I loved to hear him play his guitar. He taught himself how to play in the navy and he wasn’t super fancy with his playing but he was still good. I remember this one song momma and he would sing called, “Life is Like a Mountain Railroad” and so when I got home I googled it. I must have listened to snippets of 15 or more trying to find the right one… I listened to Johnny Cash’s rendition, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and many others, but I found this one You Tube video of these 5 men sitting in their kitchen playing sort of like my daddy would have played. I think this is the one he would have liked the most, so I’ll include the link to it if you want to hear it. It might not mean anything to you, but it made me cry. Oh, how I wish I could hear him play that song again and hear momma singing in the bedroom with him.
What is your favorite thing you remember or still love about your father? I was also wondering…DO I HAVE ANY MEN WHO READ MY BLOG? I’D LOVE TO KNOW…. :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Like many of the men of his generation, my father served in WWII. He was a B-17 pilot. After the war, he remained in the reserves, eventually becoming a lieutenant colonel. We loved the way he looked in his blue uniform, heading off to reserve meetings after a long hard day’s work. My mother, of course, was the one who pressed his uniform so that he could, he said, “look sharp.” Very few things were as hard to iron properly as those pre-perma-press oxford cloth shirts, but his was always perfect. One of my sisters has his blue uniform and another has his WWII Army Air Force uniform. I have his WWII flight book. He died 5 years ago, at the age of 91.
HI Marilyn,
How sweet your dad must have been and how great that you got to enjoy him all those years! I like how how had to “look sharp!”
Thanks for sharing Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a great topic, Jeanne, but I would have trouble choosing my favorite thing about my daddy, who died 11 years ago, at the age of 89, of pancreatic cancer.
One thing: he was romantic! I know, it’s a funny thing for a daughter to say about her dad, but he was. I remember when I was growing up, and money was in short supply (in those days they didn’t pay pastors very much–yup, I’m a “P.K.”!), and often for birthdays he would write a poem for mom! If he had an extra $10 for her to get a permanent, he would include it in the card he made. One Christmas they decided to spend only $1 on each other. I don’t remember what anyone else got that year, but daddy bought a can of cold cream for mom, and made labels with adhesive tape, which he put here and there on it. I remember one said “atomic powered axle grease”!!
He was very gentle, and gave the best back rubs. He was soft-spoken, rarely raised his voice or got angry. His faith was deep, and it showed–not only from the pulpit, but in his day-to-day life, too.
He loved my mother so very much, and he visited her every single day (she was in an adult family home due to dementia, aphasia, and a stroke) for as long as he was physically able. One time, a year or so before he got sick, mom was in the hospital, and not doing to well. He and I were there by ourselves, and he said, “Look at her–isn’t she beautiful?” and kind of choked up at the thought of losing her.
As it turned out, she outlived him by almost two years. Telling her he had died was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. She couldn’t speak, but she squeezed my hand like everything, so I knew she was aware of it.
I miss him every day–I was a real “daddy’s girl!” He was a man of faith, so I know I’ll see him again some day, and this gives me comfort.
HI Charlotte,
What a neat way to describe your dad..as a romantic! I love that!
Your parents sound like they truly had the most wonderful marriage! I choked up myself when I read about your dad visiting your mom in the hospital and saying she looked beautiful. I love a good romance story too….your parents gave us one!
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
What sweet stories about fathers! Mine was especially special to me, as I was the firstborn of 4 girls, and the spitting image of my father! He was such a wonderful father too, taking us out every Saturday for ice cream, popsicles, candy or just little things at the local confectionary. He was very quiet, but knew so much! He and my mother were exact opposites, she loved to go out, and he did not!! However, they made it work, actually knew each other a very long time, since they grew up across the street from each other and went to school together too.
One thing my father was so good at, was growing flowers. Oh my, the iris we had! He could make a dead tree stump grow flowers, I think! He loved to spend time riding his tractor, cutting the grass, growing things, and just being there for us girls. He had a quiet strength about him, and although he has been gone almost 18 years now, I will never get over losing him. I too, was a “daddy’s girl”, and of the four of us, I am the one who looks the most like him and has the same kind of personality.
HI Linda and thanks for sharing with us about your dad. I see where you get your green thumb now…your dad! He sounds like someone you would get along very much with today…working in your yard and planting flowers, mowing the grass and telling you how pretty your flowers look!
What sweet memories you have in him.
Blessings, Jeanne
How very interesting the narratives are about the fathers. I appreciated reading all of them.
And, even before listening to the youtube video, I started crying Jeanne, thinking of you hearing him and your mother sing the song while he played, and then here,you find someone of similar abilities/style playing. I’m glad you got to hear your father play that song and others. What a lovely remembrance.
My father passed on nearly 22 years ago…he would have been 108 this year. He and my mother married later in life and had children afterwards. I too probably look the most like my dad of all of the children. He was a strong man and worked hard as a farmer. Although he went to sign up for WWII, he was turned down as he was a farmer and evidently was needed to stay put on the farm to work the land. His mother passed away when he was 13 yrs old, his dad was an immigrant and physically unable to help much on the farm so, my father, being an only child, took care of everything, even my grandfather when he could no longer care for himself.
His life was hard but he had a kindness that I admired and a heart for the “underdog”. I do miss him.
Take care.
HI Becky,
What a sweet man your father sounds like… gentle and sweet and kind and understanding. He sounds like he was very responsible and had a heart of gold. Thanks for sharing your memories of him.
Blessings, Jeanne