~Clarence Budington Kelland
when i was a teenager, my dad was soooooooo annoying (insert eye roll here...and God gave me some big ol' eyes to roll, let me tell you!) he would do the most frustrating things, like pull over to help complete strangers who were having car trouble or in a fender bender...he would help people after church when clearly, going home and posting up on the couch would have been much more suitable for a sunday afternoon...he would always ask me to go run with him when i didn't want to and push me to go farther than i thought i could go...seriously, my dad was sooooooooo annoying.
i think you catch my drift.
i wish i could have appreciated all the admirable things about my father back then but i'm grateful to be able to look back on them now and see them for what they are (lots less eye rolling these days)
i couldn't possibly sum up the life lessons i've learned from my dad in one blog post but here are some of the highlights:
1. people are important...and they should be treated that way. whether it's stopping to help a stranger, counseling a lonely old woman in a nursing home or picking a friend up from the airport without so much as a grumble...my dad has often not just told me people are important, but he's shown me.
2. there are many "-ness's" in life...happiNESS, sadNESS, joyfulNESS, nervousNESS, etc. and no matter which -ness you're feeling, it's important to recognize and appreciate where you are in life's journey at that moment
3. christmas carols should be sung loudly...and as often as possible. same goes for the battle of new orleans and any beach boys song.
4. how to fish (as well as hunt coral snakes and prairie dogs :)
5. that i am loved and significant (and really, is there anything more important that a father can teach his daughter than THAT?!)
so here's to YOU dad. thank you for EVERYTHING. and yes, i would love to go for a run!
I love my father as the stars - he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart. ~Terri Guillemets
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