WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY FATHER

This is my Daddy. Yes, I still call him, Daddy. I am the baby of the family and was spoiled by him as a child. His nick-name for me was "Sweetie-Babe." I've always thought that he's an extremely handsome man. I think he looks like a combination of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. He is quiet, strong, dependable, caring, extremely intelligent, very funny, organized, sharp witted and hard working. My father has never been one to be forward with his emotions, but his family has always been his first priority and he loves us all very much.

Lesson #1: Love your family and do whatever you have to, to take care of them. I am sure when my father was a young man he didn't imagine that he would one day have 8 children, 16 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. He just did what he had to do as God presented him with his life, one day at a time. He always did what he thought was best for us and knew that we didn't have to necessarily like it. He understood that we would have tons of friends in our lives, but only one dad. I like when people say I take after him and I am very proud to be called his daughter.

Lesson #2: Love your country and support the people who fight to protect it. Freedom isn't free. My father served as a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy during WWII. He retired after 20 years. My oldest brother, Kurt, flew F-111 fighter jets in the Air Force. My brother, Kent, served in the Marines and now works for Home Land Security. My brother, Mark, also served in the Air Force. His wife, Connie, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and has served for 20 years. My sister, Genie, is a civilian working at our local Air Force base.

Lesson #3: Read and never stop learning. Everyone in our family is an avid reader. We all have a great love of books and learning. My father is 85 years old and he continues to learn something new every day. In the last 10 years he has studied Spanish and Computers.




Lesson #4: Marriage can last 62 years, if you make the choice for it to!






Lesson #5: Take pride in your home. Take care of what you have and it will last a long time. My father took great pride in how our home looked on the outside (My mother look care of the inside.). In the summers he would spend hours and hours cutting the grass, painting, gardening and repairing. I have always been proud to bring people to our home or tell them about our home, which, although my parents live in Albuquerque now, we still own, 10 ways (all my siblings and my parents). My parents, unselfishly, have allowed us to hold on to it because they know how much we love it.

Lesson#6: You can fix anything as long as you have duct tape, paper clips and a rubber band. This is my father's alter ego. MacGyver was a show in the mid-80's about a secret agent that saved the world by using mundane objects to create unorthodox solutions to problems he faced while being chased by drug lords and dictators. Now my father was never chased by a drug lord or a dictator (Well, he did fight during WWII.), but he had every tool, widget and glue ever invented in his garage. He knew it's precise location (To this day he can still tell if you move a book or pencil on this desk.) and all the practical uses for each. He can fix anything!




Lesson #7: We have a very unique, FOUR LETTER WORD in our family. If you want to offend one of us, call us...L ...A ...Z ...Y! You better know how to run fast though. To say that we learned a strong work ethic from my father is a major understatement. All eight children have a very strong "A" personality. That directly comes form my Dad. He skipped a grade in his early years of school, used to work with his Dad delivering milk in the early mornings before he went to high school and joined the Navy at the age of 17. He retired as a Chief Petty Officer after 20 years. Then he had a variety of jobs including janitor and security guard at a paper mill before he became an insurance agent, which he retired from after 20 years. During his time he also served on the school board and the parish council of our church. On the weekends he was always taking care of our home. All my siblings and I held down jobs, competed in sports and participated in clubs while attending high school and all eight of us graduated from college and have gone on to have very successful careers and families. We are always on the go, as are my mother and father. Even at 85 years of age my Dad still plays ping-pong every day, bridge twice a week, goes to socials and pot lucks, walks a few miles every day, attends church and gardens. He is also very well know at our local Home Depot/Lowes (always has a project in the works) and library (They should just give him his own key.)

If you are lucky enough to be spending the day with a dad half as great as mine, then you are truly blessed. I love you, Dad!

To those of you who are fathers, thank you for being your child's first hero, fixer of broken bicycle wheels and defender of evil.

To those of you, like my husband, who are still waiting to be called, "Daddy," may God hear your prayers, on this very special day, and may this be the last non-father's day you have.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!
LOVE, SWEETIE BABE