“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers, and singers of song.” – Pam Brown
Happy Father’s Day! I hope you had a great dad and know many other great dads. Dads come in all shapes and sizes. They might be quiet and serious, always ready with good advice. They might like to make jokes and smile. They might work on a farm in overalls or wear business suits to work behind a desk.
But what dads do best is love their children and teach them by example how to live. The picture at top is my husband trying to fix up an old bike for the grandkids. He was always ready to help them have a good time when they came to spend some time with us in the summer. He’s still ready to help them any time he can although they’ve all gotten to be young adults now.
My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. – Clarence Budington Kelland
My dad wasn’t really a cut-up even though this picture makes you think he might have been. But one time when we were all visiting, he got a wig my mother sometimes wore and put it on as a joke. I was quick with my camera to save the moment forever. He made us all laugh, but I think he laughed the most.
He was a good dad, but not like some dads are today. He loved us but didn’t spoil us. We worked on the farm and had plenty of chores. But he worked harder than any of us. Before I can remember, he would pick corn on moonlight nights when the air was cooler and the corn not as scratchy. I do remember the years he raised acres of tobacco that meant we had to work pulling plants and setting them out, chopping the weeds out of rows that seemed miles long, dropping sticks for the men cutting the tobacco when it was ready and hanging it in the barn, and then stripping the leaves off the stalks after it dried in the barn. I didn’t find any of it fun, but it just was what had to be done. Most farmers had their crop of tobacco that paid the bills.
Later after my sisters and I married and had children, Dad enjoyed the grandkids visiting. He built a building especially to hold a pool table and the kids enjoyed learning to play pool there on Sunday afternoons.
Dad was very competitive. He practiced horseshoe pitching until he could make a dozen ringers in a row. He liked to play Rook and Bridge and enjoyed figuring out puzzles. He only went one day to high school, but taught himself Algebra. He could help us get the right answers for our Algebra homework, but it was never the way the teacher taught us to do the problems.
My dad loved ice cream. So, on Father’s Day, we nearly always celebrated by getting out the hand-crank ice cream freezer and making banana ice cream. I think that was the only flavor we ever made.
My father-in-law was a farmer too. He loved that homemade banana (again, the only flavor worthy to be made) ice cream too. This picture is a favorite that I took at a family gathering. That was just how Gabby was. Looking serious but always with so much love for his daughter and four sons. That love spread to include the in-law children and the grandchildren. He loved when the family was all together.
He was a tenant farmer and never had a farm of his own. He milked cows and raised tobacco on other people’s farm for half of the income. He farmed using horsepower for many year until he finally was able to get a tractor. His boys were out in the field working beside him. He was a good man who gave his boys the right kind of example to follow.
He loved keeping up with the Cincinnati Reds and Kentucky basketball. Since I am a ball fan too, we had plenty to talk about. And the same as my dad, he enjoyed playing Rook. While he liked to win
, who doesn’t when they are playing games, he wasn’t as competitive as my dad. But he did seem to have a card player’s luck and would often come out on the winning side.
He was a man of faith and his sons followed his footsteps and are all church leaders now.
I’ve been blessed with good fathers. Mine and my husband’s father. My husband and his brothers are all good dads. And then my sons followed in their good dad steps.
The Strength of a Man:– isn’t seen in the width of his shoulders, it’s seen in the width of his arms that circle you;
– isn’t in the deep tone of his voice, it’s in the gentle words he whispers;
– isn’t how many buddies he has, it’s how good a buddy he is with his kids;
– isn’t in how respected he is at work, it’s in how respected he is at home;
– isn’t in how hard he hits, it’s in how tender he touches;
– isn’t in the hair on his chest, it’s in his heart…that lies within his chest;
– isn’t in how many women he’s loved, it’s in how he can be true to one woman;
– isn’t in the weight he can lift, it’s in the burdens he carries. – Unknown
What about your dad? Want to share something about him?
Please do. I’d love to know about him.