Daddy...

I think about Dad a lot these days, I'm not sure the reason for that. It's been almost 9 years since his death.  Maybe it's because a high school friend lost her dad recently, that I'm thinking of Dad. I miss him as if it was yesterday, but yet at the same time, I think back to those last months and I am glad I didn't have to watch him suffer.

I'm so thankful for the upbringing and lessons he taught me, the values he instilled in me.  I'm mostly thankful for the huge, caring heart he had and passed on to his children. Dad helped people. I remember Dad going out of his way to help children on the school bus, my friends, our neighbors, who ever it was.  I guess that's on my mind recently because of our crazy household at the moment.

I also thinking about Dad because of the lessons he taught. It wasn't the math problems he helped with or how to drive a stick shift, which I never got the hang of.  It was the example of how to treat people fairly, how to give an honest day's work for a honest wage, and how to make your name mean something.

I remember my sister and I back when in school, we used to talk about the fact that our identify wasn't determined it felt by who we were or what he had done around FR, but rather everyone knew us as "Joe's daughters".  The topic came up again when Dad passed away and we were sitting around the house remembering and talking about things, and Mom even commented that few people in FR knew her, and even the ones who recognized her, didn't know her name. She was simply "Joe's wife".  Dad was well known in our community. I think of our society and who we consider "well known" in our community.  People can be "well-known" for a lot of reason, but it's the great ones that are well-known for their character. I'm so proud to be "Joe's Daughter" because I know that title means I'm the product of a well-respected man, a man of good character, as the Bible would say.

I hope when my children sit someday and reflects over my life, they can say the same about their mother as I can say about my dad. That I taught them the good lessons of life, the values and morals. The character that they have is the some traits that were passed down from my dad.  I love you, Daddy. If tears were stairs, I would have visited you in heavens many times over.