My dad died when I was twelve. I have fond memories of him and will always miss him. Some of the memories were of decorating the Christmas tree (once going into the country and chopping one down), family dinners at my grandparents, Dad teaching me to water ski on the Kentucky River, his laugh, his smile. He was my dad to me, but once I talked with a friend of my parents who told me my dad had saved her daughter's life. My father was a pediatrician, but I never realized his effect on other people's lives until she told me that. Oh, and another memory was being a guinea pig for new vaccines for children. I was one of the first people to take the polio vaccine. He had been involved in its development according to my mother who told me that later.
My mother remarried several years after my father died, and I was fortunate to have a wonderful stepfather, too. When my mother became ill, he took care of her and stuck by her to the end. Fathers are so important to a family. Although Father's Day was several days ago, I wanted to pay tribute to all the fathers out there--especially my husband and son who has four girls. Oh, and today is my husband's birthday. MIKE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I LOVE YOU!!
What are some fond memories you have of your dad?
Dad has passed away but I still see him teasing the waitresses as he was wont to do; he's say to the waitress "does it matter who pays for this bill?" and they'd say "no". Then he'd say "well then you can pay for it" and they'd smile or laugh.
ReplyDeleteRobyn, cute story. I love remember those kind of stories about both my parents.
ReplyDeleteMargaret
I have some happy memories of my dad of a few yeas ago(when I was little) and my parents were still together.
ReplyDeleteMy mom's a kindergarten teacher. So, every spring she invites ALL of her kids over to our house for dinner. It's ambitious but she loves doing it. At the end of the dinner, my dad always did the same thing. He would ask mom if we were having dessert. She'd always reply simply with yes. Then, he would proceed to convince all the kids that we were having skunk pudding for dessert. Skunk pudding is made out of skunk, just so you know! : )
It is kind of a stupid memory out of any memory that I can remember, but he did it EVERY year.
Hannah
LOL, Hannah. Love it.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, your dad sounds like an amazing man!
ReplyDeleteRobyn, what a cute story about your dad! :)
LOL, Hannah! I bet those kids went crazy. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah they did. Every year, the same thing! My Dad also used to have this "old man mask". He had it when I was little and my sister wasn't born yet, but I remember it. He would put it on and come out into the dining room. It scared me so much, but he thought it was funny! I just couldn't connect that it was him with a MASK on, so I thought it was a stranger. Finally, my mom got him to throw it out or she might have done it when he wasn't looking! : ) That also happened at the dinners. Kids from classes older than mine still come up to me and say, "Remember when I went to your house for dinner in kindergarten. You hid under the table from your dad with that mask on!" And they walk away laughing! Luckily, now I can laugh about it myself!
ReplyDeleteHannah