Post Father's Day Thoughts

First, I want to wish all the Brony Daddies out there a belated Happy Father's Day!

Second, I want to take a moment to remember my Dad.

My Daddy was a big part of my life. I remember when I was maybe three or four years old, him taking me fishing. There was a pond in the woods behind our home. We used cane poles, nothing fancy. I loved watching the bobber move and jerk as the fish played with it. He never got tired of me asking the same old questions over and over. At the end, we usually had some fish to take home.

Growing up, I was always the one to help him. My sister and brother would help some, but I was the most reliable. He once bought me my own ax and push mower. After that, I asked him not to give me any more surprise presents. Daddy was really anal when it came to the yard. We had to get up ALL the pine straw and ALL the leaves in the Fall. I don't know how many times we had to rake to get everything up...and I mean everything! He didn't want ANY evidence that leaves had dared to fall in his yard! We'd be bending down over leaf piles, scraping with our hands to get everything up that the rake missed.

My Daddy was also very creative. When my brother wanted a Star Wars Light Sabre, Daddy made him one out of a plastic tube with a piece of wood covered in black electrical tape for a handle. Once, he decided to make one of those wooden snowman yard ornaments and asked me to design one for him. Daddy was really into the Civil War (or War Between the States) so I designed the snowman to look like Jeb Stuart with a big hat and feather. We made a pattern and Daddy cut it out on his saw table. We painted him together and once he was ready, we set him up in the front yard. Our snowman was the biggest snowman on the block. We named him "Snowregard" after Gen. Beauregard.

Unlike some husbands you see on TV, my Daddy loved his in-laws. When my grandmother wished she had a stable for her
new olive wood Nativity Set she had gotten from the Holy Land, he surprised her by building one himself. He took limbs from a dogwood tree and cut them into little planks to make the walls and roof. He even made a little loft, a hay rack, a bench, a trough, and a little milking stool to go with it.

When my grandmother went into the nursing home, she gave me the stable and her Nativity set. Even though it isn't Christmas, I still have it out so I can see it and remember them both. I remember the good times before Alzheimer's took everything away.

Just be thankful for every Father's Day you can enjoy.