In Thanks of Daddy

Since it's Father's Day, I'm devoting this week's "10 Things of Thankful" to my Daddy:

1. I'm thankful that my dad has never noticed things like hair or make-up or clothes or that colors match or whether they should be worn out of the house at all. When I was in high school, I could have gone out in anything short of a hooker ensemble, and he wouldn't have stopped me. 

2. I'm thankful that my dad's family moved all over the country until he left for college, because he never did that to us. He was very shy and didn't like the moves, so he never moved us away from our friends and family.

3. I'm thankful that my dad has always been handy. Age has slowed him down quite a bit, but until recently, he always fixed stuff that was broken around the house, including plumbing and  electrical issues (and taught me to be a pretty fair plumber, myself). My grandma once told me a story that when he was around five years old, he got a new wagon for Christmas, and the next thing she knew, he had taken off the front wheels, turned it into a trailer, and hitched it to his tricycle.

4. I'm thankful my dad had (HAD) a full head of curly hair, because that's what I have now. 

5. I'm thankful my dad is a practical joker. One of his famous pranks was pulled on my Uncle Gale (his sister's husband). My aunt and uncle's family went on vacation and left their guinea pigs with us to pigsit. When my uncle dropped them off, he told us the black one hadn't been acting right, and if it died, just quietly bury it in the backyard and don't save it for them. 

The day before they were due back, my dad took an empty half-gallon milk carton, cut the top off, filled it with water, and submerged a piece of black fake fur in it. He then put it in the freezer, and when my uncle came to pick up the guinea pigs, my dad said, "Well, we have some bad news," and handed him the milk carton.

I can still see the look on my uncle's face. 

When my dad couldn't stand it anymore, he started laughing and confessed it wasn't really the guinea pig. My uncle (and here's where it all turned south) thought it was GENIUS and decided to pull the same prank on my aunt and two cousins. To say it didn't go over well at their house is an understatement. I suspect my cousin Cynthia may still hold a grudge about it to this day. 

6. I'm thankful my dad liked black licorice, because he taught me to like it, too. And when you have black licorice, not very many people want a piece of your candy, so you hardly ever have to share.

7. I'm thankful my dad made the decision to take over my grandfather's farm supply store when my grandfather became ill and then passed away. While it was hard on my mom (and this is the ONLY time they moved away, from our suburban Kansas City neighborhood to a small town 100 miles to the south), we have all enjoyed "the store" and were all very saddened when he chose to liquidate it two years ago and retire. I have many memories of growing up in the store when it belonged to my Grandpa, and my kids have them from when it belonged to THEIR grandpa.

In the office of his farm supply store.

8. I'm thankful my dad taught my husband and son to fish for trout. It's been a fun father/son activity for them.

9. I'm thankful for all the goofy sayings my dad has had over the years. Two of my favorites are "Two zeroes don't add up to one" (which he usually said to me when a friend and I were going to attempt to do something he didn't think was going to work out so well) and (this one is for my friend Christine) "What's time to a pig?"

August 1993

10. I'm especially thankful that I still have my Daddy around. He is 78, and his health is meh, but he and my mom are still plugging along, still an active part of our lives, and still has much to teach us.

Daddy's weekend uniform.