Saturday, June 15, 2013

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.


16 comments:

  1. My dad has been gone for 18 yrs. So hard to believe. Your list really touched my heart. I too had a dad that never made me move out of town, and who loved black licorice to some degree because he never really had to share it!

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    1. One year, my dad went to something like five different elementary schools. And every time they moved, they only took what fit in the car and sold the rest, buying new when they got to the new town. So grateful that we never had to move farther than about a mile and a half, from one neighborhood to one that was better but still the same school!

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  2. what an excellent '10 Post...'

    (very nicely done with the photos...)

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    1. Thank you! I realized that I have very few pictures of my dad in my possession, and that I need to get our family pics from my mom and scan them all.

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  3. Love your 10 things. What a prankster your dad is!

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  4. I love that you did today's thankful post as a happy Father's Day to your dad. I laughed at number one because my dad was the opposite when I was in high school. My dad and I both really like black licorice too! "What's time to a pig" is an excellent saying!!

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    1. I could have come home with green hair and my dad wouldn't have said a word.

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  5. What a fantastic idea for the list. Wish I would have thought of it...
    Thank you for my new favorite saying. Much better than the one my mom keeps using (bled like a stuck pig)
    It sounds like you have a lot of your dad in you. Both of you enjoy your time here on earth.
    My dad still lives in the same house we moved to when I was 7 years old. It is the same town my grandma lived in her entire life. I've been to the house in which she was born 87 years ago. Even though I don't want to live in Canton, I do love the childhood I had there, and the memories I can share with my kids.
    That photo of your parents is absolutely gorgeous!
    Thanks for linking up again!

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    1. I started to write about my husband for Father's Day and realized that was stupid, him not being my father and all :)

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  6. Excellent list.

    I loved the guinea pig story and it gave me an idea...
    I am currently babysitting an overweight Labrador for my neighbors... I am looking for a VERY LARGE MILK CARTON.

    Joel B.

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    1. I think at that point it becomes a vat and not a carton. And you might have to freeze something that large at the county morgue.

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  7. What a sweet list! It's great you are so close to your father and that he is still around to pass on his wisdom.

    Having a family owned business can be drama when it comes time to decide what to do with it when something tragic like that happens. I'm glad once it was decided to sell out, there were no hardships.

    Talking about pranks makes me think about Christine (and pigs do too... naturally and as she said above "bled like a stuck pig"). I think more families need pranks! As long as they don't go tooooo far.

    I'd like to believe if I had children I would bestow some sweet sayings for them to carry on... but I don't know how well "Oh My Nuts" & "Holy sweet Mother Mary Baby Jesus in a Hand-basket" would go over most places >.>

    I maybe added you to Twitter... I thought that little button would open your page so I could snoop, but... the jigs up!

    Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

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    1. Thanks, Jak! I pass on my dad's sayings to my kids, since mine tend to be similar to the ones you would use.

      It was hard to see the store close after nearly 50 years in business, but the economy made it so it was really the only thing left to do. Now we have to actually BUY batteries and lightbulbs and trashbags and the like. Sucks.

      Feel free to snoop away! I'm trying to get better about keeping up with Twitter. The learning curve has been steep.

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  8. mmkay clearly I was being a TERRIBLE person here and not leaving owt! I remember this post. I remember thinking what a lovely Daddy you have.

    Maybe that's why I didn't leave a comment.

    You're lucky :)

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