MEMORIES OF MY DAD

My dad has been heavy on my heart since we learned that he is suffering with cancer.  He may be leaving this earth soon but he is leaving behind a treasure trove of beautiful long lasting memories.  I want to take this time to share some of these with you.

Being the oldest of six girls I have known him the longest and I am truly grateful for all that time I got to know him.  To me he’s been the greatest dad that anyone could ever have asked for or wanted.

As far as I know, dad has always been ‘real’ with no pretenses about him.  He never seemed to care if someone was rich or poor or whatever their station in life was.  He seemed to treat everyone the same and I know of no one who ever met him that didn’t like him.

Material things never seemed important to dad.  He always made the most of what he had around him and ended up turning many of those things into memories of some kind.  Like the time he took an old Genie Ware jug and made a lamp out of it. He used a Genie Ware bowl turned upside down for the lamp shade.  (I won a prize for having the most unusual item.)

Dad was a kid at heart and played with us often.  He loved to chase us around the house and tickle us till we would beg him to stop.  He tickled me so much when I was little that today I am no longer ticklish. 

‘Touch you last’ was one of my favourite games and I never could get that last touch in no matter how hard I tried. 

We looked forward to going to bed each night because dad would give us the ‘jiggles’.  While we lay on our back he would pump our bended legs back and forth as fast as he could while we giggled with glee. 

Dad was a practical joker and loved playing tricks on me. He would come home from work each day and hang his coat in our bathroom.  A little later he would go in and when he came out he would hand me a bubble gum and say “I pooped some bubble gum for you.”  I was very naive and believed him.  I would beg him over and over again,” Dad, can you poop some more bubble gum for me?” 

My dad played the violin and he would use it to baffle me.  When I would go to the bathroom, he would rush and get his violin and play music by the bathroom door.  When I came out he had the violin hidden and he would say “I heard you peeing music again” and I would wonder how I did that. 

Some of his crazy antics are the best of memories that I will always cherish. 

Dad wasn’t a great carpenter but the things he made were from the loving heart of a father to his daughters.  I’ll never forget the Christmas I woke to find a brand new doll lying in a freshly made wooden crib with my name on it.  He made us each one and also made one for our neighbour’s girls. 

A neighbour of ours had a lawn swing and I would go to their house regularly to swing on it.  Dad ended up making a child size version of it and I spent many a day swinging to my hearts content.  Here is a picture of it.

One time dad made a large wooden platform and attached it by ropes in our garage.  I think he had begun to make a large lawn swing and ended up turning it into a garage swing.  Rain or shine, kids from all over the neighbourhood would pile up on that thing and swing back and forth for hours at a time.  We had so much fun swinging, singing and knocking each other off.

Another thing about dad was that he always seemed to have a song in his heart.  No matter what he would be doing he would either be singing or whistling a tune.  On long trips, it was only natural that we would all sing some of his favourite songs.  When I had children of my own, I carried on that tradition, trying to teach my daughters some of their grandfather’s songs.

From as far back as I can remember dad was a storyteller.  I loved sitting at his feet and I could sit for hours while he told stories.

My favourite stories were those he would tell of poor little girls that were so ugly that no one wanted or loved them.  I would empathise and cry my heart out as I begged for more.  Eventually mom would have to tell him to quit telling us stories and making us cry.  We loved them and couldn’t get enough. 

Many of his stories were of his childhood, some were of his exploits with one special friend he had, and many were made up just to entertain us. Each of his stories was rich with anticipation, adventure, mystery and comedy. 

One such story was about the time he and his brother went hunting late one night.  There had been wolves spotted nearby and they were determined to kill them.  They set themselves up behind some bushes and waited.  Before long they saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring at them through the darkness.  Slowly and quietly, he set up his rifle, carefully aimed and shot the wolf square between the eyes.  To his surprise nothing happened.  As he watched the eyes separated and went in opposite directions.  He then went on to explain that it was actually two wolves standing side by side, each with one eye opened and one eye closed. The shot had gone right between them.  He loved building us up and then delivering the punch line.

Soon he will be going to live with the Jesus that he loves so much.  He will once again be reunited with his parents, brothers and some of his sisters not to mention some of his children, grandchildren and friends who have gone on before. 

I can just see them now as they walk together on streets of gold or they gather around him under the tree of life.  He will entertain them with stories of his wife and girls and tell them stories of what has been going on down here since they left.   

I will miss him exceedingly but I know he will be happy and healthy and living in the arms of Jesus.

I love you dad.