Tribute Part II: Dad

I love this picture of me and my dad.  I was home from college for the summer and he flew me and my sister to Montague Island to walk on the beach and it was BEAUTIFUL!  If I remember right this picture was taken while we were hurrying back to the plane so that we could make it over the island through that little pocket of blue sky you can see.  Flying through clouds doesn't really scare my dad, but it scares me!

I don't believe we have ever talked about it, but I think my dad's love language is quality time.  He has always been good at inviting me to spend one on one time with him, whether it was going with him to a job site, flying, fishing, biking, helping build the airplane, or helping with a project around the house.  He has never been pushy about it so when I was a moody teenager I never felt forced or smothered, but I always knew I was welcome to go hang out with my dad.  I still feel that way when I'm around him.

Dad has never been a flashy kind of guy.  He's a quiet steady source of kindness .  I actually never noticed how kind my dad is until someone from the community where I grew up pointed it out to me.  He just doesn't go about it in a way that asks for recognition AT ALL, so I never thought twice about it.  But once I did think about it I realized they were SO RIGHT.  

Dad always tried to make sure the neighbors' driveways were cleared of snow, or their grass was mowed when they were on vacation.  He and my mom love to throw parties and they're both very good at making sure there is something everyone, from the littlest one to the oldest one, would like to eat and do.  Dad is good at making sure everyone feels invited and welcome.  He has a great sense of 'the right thing to do'.  He calls the right people, and tries his best to say the right thing.  I remember a lot of times when we were supposed to be doing some kind of favor for someone and I felt 'weary in well-doing' while dad was still going strong.  

That leads me to another amazing thing about my dad.  He doesn't leave things undone.  He built an airplane in our garage which took YEARS, literally.  He just kept plugging away at it, little project after little project and now he has a flying machine that he BUILT.  I am so proud to tell people about that!

When I think about who my dad is I feel incredibly lucky.  There are so many dads who take passive roles in their kids lives, or who are mostly absent because of work.  My dad was an AWESOME dad.  He has always made a point to be into whatever we were into.  He coached T-ball, and eventually high school soft ball, he came to all of our games and races and concerts, sometimes even travelling hundreds of miles to do so.  It was never a question.  He (and my mom equally so) put up with my endless whining on camping trips, and patiently taught us how to build fires, hunt, canoe, process meat, fish, change tires, change the oil, ski...I could go on and on.

I also deeply admire my dad because he never bought into the "women's work and man's work" thing.  I remember both mom and dad cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, mowing lawns, blowing the snow, refinishing the house, building things, fixing the sink, fixing the cars, taking care of the kids, working, cleaning fish, butchering caribou, etc.  There was almost nothing that BOTH my mom and dad couldn't or wouldn't do as far as taking care of our family and I really REALLY love having that example.  

In so many ways I want to be like my dad, and I want to find someone who is as kind, supportive, smart, handy, and determined as he is, and that's a tall order!

Love you, dad!