Memories of Dad

Memories of my dad on Father's Day:

 

Back in the day!

 

It's his fault I LOVE basketball. When I was 12 years old he wanted me to play on a park board team. I was resistant and had absolutely no desire to play sports. So we made a deal... If he would be my coach, I would play basketball. And the rest is history...

When I was little there were two magic words that could get me anything I wanted when put together... "Daaaddyyyy, PLEEEEEEASE!"

When I wore holes into my black high-top Reeboks, he bought me another pair. It didn't matter that they were probably more than he could afford.

My dad LOVES animals. He tries to play tough but he's an even bigger softy than we are.


My parents have always gotten us Easter baskets. They were delivered by Dad, which usually meant him hopping like a bunny from his bed room, a basket in each hand.



Working a parade

There are a few perks to being the child of a police officer, such as free ride tickets at the fair. When we were little we got to go to work with dad when there was a parade. It was like having front row seats at a concert :-) At the end of the parade he would pull in behind the procession. I would pretend I was the guest of honor and wave to everyone as we drove by. I was IN the parade!

  

One thing Dad and I always shared was a love for roller coasters. He and I can ride one after another after another together.

Oh the lectures... Fatality car accidents, teenagers getting into bad situations, abuse and neglect, etc. Being the child of a police officer also means being told about all the things that MIGHT happen.

Dad has always enjoyed trying to embarrass me. When I was in the 3rd grade, we went to the school book fair. Dad approached the boy I had a crush on and asked the poor 9-year-old 'what are your intentions with my daughter?' I was absolutely mortified! 

I don't know if he remembers this but it's also his fault that I went into Social Work. I was helping him deliver a semi truck one day and we were discussing what major I should choose. My school would no longer allow me to be undecided. He asked me if I'd considered Social Work.... hmmmm.... There's an option! I began looking into the possibility. Again, the rest is history...

 

If school was cancelled due to ice or snow, my dad drove around and picked up teenagers from the church. We were delivered to the homes of the elderly from church so we could shovel their driveways. Then we played! Which usually meant pulling saucers behind the vehicle in the fields. 

Not only was Dad our chauffeur during snow days, but also in the not so rare event of toilet papering other members of the youth department or members of the church. He would drop off a carload of kids; drive around; and return to pick us up when we were finished. 

Gangster

One of Dad's favorite things to yell when I was playing basketball was, "God gave you those hips for a reason! Use them!" Everyone heard him.

My dad has always been willing to rescue me. In college I locked my keys in the car while it was running; he drove all the way to Bolivar to unlock it. When critters get under my house or I think I hear someone outside late at night, he drives into town to take a look around. He'd rather be safe than sorry!

Dad bought my first car. And my second. And my third. He needs to be needed ;-)

My first year of college I was waitressing at local restaurant and I was miserable. I broke down crying one Sunday because I was working, AGAIN, and not able to go to church. I hadn't been to church in almost 2 months! I called my dad and he said, "Quit." He told me I had the rest of my life to work. I needed to focus on my first year of college and he would take care of everything.

My dad is a talker! I was forced many times to wait on him while he finished talking. He would hand me the car keys (this was before I had a license) and tell me to practice driving around the parking lot.

Dad loved this; I can't say we felt the same. The boat once broke down in the middle of the lake. While he pulled from the front, my sister and I pushed from the back. We waded through dirty, moss filled water to get the boat back to the dock. My swimming suit was ruined. But Dad... he had the time of his life :-P

Dad had a '67 Chevy pickup for a while. Of all times for him to choose for me to practice driving, he once picked a day he was taking me to an open gym. I had been lifting weights and working out all week. My muscles were already sore! I was tense and nervous driving his old pick-up into town; I could not mess up that truck. Not good for already sore muscles!

Dad loves to teach. He's been involved in teaching many different Sunday School classes. But I've always told him he attracts the misfits. He adopts the people and families that don't fit anywhere else. Some of the families may not have extended family support and he turns into 'grandpa'. That's his special niche.
 

 I guess one of the biggest memories of my dad will always be that he was my youth director at church for most of my teenage years. That almost always meant a house full of teenagers. It sometimes meant sharing my bedroom with displaced kids. And... whether I liked it or not, many other kids called him DAD.

Father's Day 2013