A Tribute to My Dad

Gratefully, I did not procrastinate telling my dad I loved, appreciated, respected, and admired him. I had grown up some.

Daddy came to faith in Christ later in life, but he always understood diligence. He was a great example of a diligent person being free to have fun – which he did!

Diligent about work, he was careful to be also about family. By 5 a.m. he was off to work, doing paperwork in the quiet hours. He came home again for breakfast with the family every day, and returned to work afterward.

He also – one at a time – took us children with him on one-day business trips. Those talks in the car helped me feel important, cared about, and heard. Much of my thinking was formulated through those conversations.

He was diligent about many things. He was always well-groomed – at 90, “Dressing is a discipline like anything else.” He diligently kept up with current events, read, and kept a worn thesaurus by his chair. He consistently phoned his friends, checking to see how they were doing. He was disciplined about six slices of banana in a circle atop his cereal (5 kinds, mixed) with an ice cube in the center. And never more than two cookies after dinner. (I didn’t get that gene!)

Daddy never put off fun. Wherever he went there were smiles and laughter. Kids in the neighborhood came to ask if he could come out and play chase games. He took us camping, dressed in silly costumes, made elaborate plans for playing jokes. One year he advertised for Father’s Day. He wrote in lipstick on bathroom mirrors -“June 20 – Dad’s Day.” He hung newspaper ads over the dining room table – “Remember the One You Love on Father’s Day!”

When Daddy passed away, a young lady spoke to me at the visitation. She’d often served him at his favorite restaurant and enjoyed his teasing, hoping every day he’d come in. Her boyfriend agreed, “Yes, she’d get off work and tell me, ‚ÄòHe came today!'”

I know the feeling. He was my Daddy!

Let’s not put off letting our dads, husbands, sons, or the men influential in our lives know our love, gratitude, respect, and admiration. They are not likely to advertise how much that would mean to them.

What’s something you could share about your dad?