But tonight I don't want to dwell on that hardship from the past. I try to save my seriousness for one day during the week. However, while dwelling on this period of my life, I remembered something I did shortly after my Dad passed on: I wrote down as many "rememberables" as I could in a journal; things I never wanted to forget or have fade away.
Like the way he always called his cologne "stink perty."
How he always, without fail, told us to "stick 'em up or I'll drill ya!" whenever he had his cordless drill out (which was always for my handyman Dad).
When driving through the country, he would splat a bug on our windshield and then inevitably say, "Bet he doesn't have the guts to do that again!"
He taught me to use WD40 on my fingers when I got sap on them from one of the numerous evergreens in our yard.
He would never just walk by kids selling lemonade at a garage sale. He always gave them a few quarters but never for lemonade, just to see the looks on their faces realizing this guy gave them free money!
He never stopped holding my hand, even at 28 years old, I was his little girl.
He always encouraged us when we got hurt: "it'll feel better when it stops hurting!"
If he got his words mixed up he'd say, "Got my tongue tangled round my eye teeth and couldn't see to talk straight!"
If we had to repeat something to him it was because he was "deaf in one ear and can't hear out the other!"
Today's gift of survival: memories. I'm so glad I wrote these things (and many more) down. I only wish I had started sooner. My Pa was a great man and many people have stories to tell about him. But no one told his stories like he did. And his humor was one-of-a-kind!
I wish I had done more videos of him. I wish I had asked him more questions and taken more pictures. I wish I had gathered more wisdom. I wish I could have spent more time out in the shop with him.
But I take what memories, photos, and videos I have and cherish them. I have 3 older brothers and when the 4 of us spend time together, the spirit of my Dad is definitely within us! We tell his same corny jokes. And we laugh at each other's corny jokes (even though we've heard them over and over)!! The mannerisms of my brothers, their character, their ethics and standards all reflect my Dad. They each have physical attributes similar to Dad's. They share some of his same passions. I encourage my children to build relationships with their uncles because their Uncles (and Aunts, of course) are fabulous. But I also encourage their relationships so that my kids can see reflections of who their Grandpa was in each of my brothers. They never knew him; he died before they could create any memories with him. But with my brothers, he's never really far away.
So I guess I went back to being a bit serious; it seems I tend to do that. I'll leave you with this one:
Whenever passing over a railroad track, my Dad would tell me, "A train just went by!" Amazed (at least the first time, anyway) that he could possibly know this when there was not a train in sight I asked him, "How do you know?!" And he responded with, "Because it left its tracks!"
Now I tell my kids the same joke and I'm sure they'll tell their kids...
KC
U dont know how much Utouched my "Heart strings" Especially the train remark. We were going 130 MPH when we crossed a railroad trck and saw a CABOOSE 15 Ft up the track. So thankful to God we made it and he had such wonderful people as U to live with.
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