My father was a special man whom I am very proud to call Dad. He lived a good long life and had many friends who love him still. During my childhood he tried to teach me some important things and I didn’t always pay too close attention, but they did come back to me later on and dang if he wasn’t right all along.
Here are a few of the things that I learned. Value. Not just right from wrong, but the value of having something that you really wanted and the cost. We had an allowance each week or so, not a lot but it was a small fortune to me. If I wanted to go buy something special like a soda or candy, or something extra, you had to work for it. I mean really special chores! Pulling up nut grass in the yard was one that I really disliked but I did earn a little extra for doing it. It seems that it was always in the heat of summer and you squatted on the ground with a small spade and pulled up that weed so it didn’t spread in the yard. Another special chore was plucking those fat little horned tomato worms off the tomato plants! That was worse than nut grass pulling parties! From earning that little extra I learned to appreciate what I had, because I had to work for it, and that made it even more valuable.
Another thing that he taught us was faith. He had faith not only in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but in us kids. We went to Sunday School and Church regularly and I grew in my faith because he showed me what it really was by his actions. He trusted that we would know right from wrong and that we would do the right thing. And sometimes, I admit, I didn’t always do the right thing and I had faith that I would pay for that later on. Dad taught us faith and trust by his actions, he inspired me to become a Sunday School teacher, and then to become an elder in my own church later on. I wanted to become like him because of his faith and trust, and I hope that I passed it on to my children.
Dad had a great sense of humor, and was able to laugh at himself, and with others, but not at them. He knew almost everyone around Porterville and then later on, in Placerville, and everyone enjoyed his good sense of humor. He could make you smile with a silly joke, and he knew the right thing to say to make me feel better when I was down. He would also sit listen to our cornball jokes over and over again as kids and was very patient with us. His good natured teasing was well known not only in our family but with everyone he met. He touched the hearts of many people with his humor and we learned to laugh at ourselves rather than to take ourselves too seriously.
The most important lesson he taught was to love ourselves and others. We have a large family and we got together as much as possible to visit and have a lot of fond memories of growing up and playing with our cousins and lots of friends. He showed his love for others by always being the first to volunteer to help someone in need. We never felt deprived or wanting for anything. In fact, through his helping others, I learned to love others and wanting to help out by doing for them too because of the example that he set for us. This brings me back to Value. I value the time that he spent with us, I value his love for us and for making me smile when I think of him.
Delightful Designs 