My 96 year old father called me to say…“Just calling to let you know…well I made through another year…but I will call you if something happens to me & die...(at that moment the song from Adele popped into my head…words… Hello, it’s me calling from the other side) I told him…NO…Wow! dad, we’re so fortunate to have you in our lives.
Yes, we’re the fortunate ones.
I believe with all my heart that the reason he is alive is his humor, his positive outlook on life, and above all his giving spirit. You know how there’s always that fellow or neighbor while growing up that everyone gravitated towards. HE was the one. Giving people food, money, haircuts & even picking up hitchhikers everywhere he would go. He would say: We need to help this person he is more likely having a hard time of it… he needs our help. Scary… But nothing ever happened to him or us…I guess it was a different time then.
Many of my earliest memories of my father are of him waking up very early, whistling a happy tune while getting dressed for work, (btw – he still whistles while he does things around the house, but not much sound comes out since his lungs have asbestos residue, working from removing it) never, I mean never that I ever hear him complain about long hours or such. He worked so hard to provide. That’s my daddio! Great lesson to all his 9 kids.
And even in the male machismo of the latino world, my dad was different. How you might ask? Well, he didn’t view the housework as only for women. He would get home, have supper and help with the dishes, sweeping, folding laundry & sometimes doing the cooking. He was ahead of his time. Mi Papi ❤
He loved all his nine kids…he would say the kisses of a child are the sweetest thing there could be. He was my king kong & my horsey. As kids, he loved for us to climb him and imagine him as Kong.
All men desire respect, but he knew he had to earn it from my mother, from his kids & at work..and he did. Mother & his kids respected his wisdom, his efforts to be a good father and when layoffs came he was the last to lose his job.
He would always try to economize with the help of my mother…I do not know how they raised us..so we would always hear, turn off the water when brushing your teeth, turn off the lights when not in the room, don’t be wasteful with food and such. Till this day, I always remember that advice, it will always be in my head, so I try to not be wasteful in water, light or with food,,, geez i finish my whole plate,,, fatty
My dad is in a wheelchair now, arthritis has a grip on his rugged hard-working hands, but you will still find him gardening, washing dishes, sweeping & his favorite the leaf blower… Now that’s a superhero in my book.
Don’t wait for a special month to honor your dad, he is one special awesome dude, and I wouldn’t trade mine for anything. He is a keeper. Don’t know for how much more, but he is here now.
Fun fact: my dad has one green eye and one brown eye….only 1% of the population! One more thing that makes him special…
Tell us in the comments about your father and what makes him special. We love to keep the conversation going.
Sadly my dad died on August 13, 2021. This post was written a year earlier. He is missed.
❤ Warmly , Martha
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