Tribute to My Father

Yesterday was Father’s Day and I wanted to share with you my relationship with my father. You see, I am a “daddy’s little girl” and have been all my life. As the youngest of three daughters, I tended to be spoiled by my family, especially my father. My father is going to be 92 this year and still going strong.

While I was going through school, my father was the sole provider for our family of five. He worked six days a week and had Wednesdays off. Every day we all had dinner together (cooked by my father) before he left to go to work as a Maître’d in a Chinese restaurant. Every Wednesday he would drive me to my accordion lesson before we had dinner. On Saturdays we would go grocery shopping together. These were special times because I had my father all to myself. Once a year my father would have a week off for vacation and he would usually drive our family to South Carolina to visit relatives.

I remember the only time my father “spanked” me. When I was a small child around four years old, I put my hand in my father’s pocket to get money because he refused to give me any. He unbuckled his belt and slapped my hand with the little flap that came out of the buckle. I’m sure it wasn’t hard but it hurt my feelings so bad that I cried for days. He never had to “spank” me again; a look was all it took.

My father taught me by example that working hard was something to be proud of. If you wanted something, you needed to work for it and the pride you felt by earning it was a great feeling. He also taught me that honesty and integrity was something that you needed to protect and never lose. I don’t remember my father ever lecturing me about these values but he always showed me by his actions. I knew I did the right things by the smile that appeared on his face when I made the right choices. I also knew I never wanted to disappoint him or make him feel ashamed of me.

I’m so proud of my father for the things that he accomplished in his life and the things he continues to do. He is always willing to help others and makes others feel good about being around him. I love to hear the stories of his life when he was a child, when he was in the military, and when he was a young man. His stories are magical and exciting!

So, this blog post is a tribute to my father.

Thanks Pa for being my dad!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original picture taken by unknown but given to me by my father.

Original picture: Florida December 2010 taken by Pat Hensley