Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that’s why I call you dad, because you are so special to me. (Wade Boggs)
Since it’s Father’s Day, I thought this would be a good time to share some Dad pictures and thoughts. My dad has been gone for a number of years but my memories of him stay fresh. The picture above is when we were on a trip to Oregon. I lacked a few weeks being six and don’t remember too much about the trip. That’s why I love this picture. A dad is a good one to introduce you to adventure. In this picture we were riding the lift down the mountain. I’m squeezed in on top of my sister. So she may have been glad when the ride was over! But you can tell my dad was enjoying the trip and I know that even more because he bought that picture. Dad wasn’t one to buy what he might consider frivolous souvenirs and generally stuck to the basic needs. We ate a lot of pork and beans on the trip out there. My sister says she still doesn’t like pork and beans. 
Another thing Dads do is introduce us to some favorite foods. My husband is here showing my youngest son how to enjoy a bite of a biscuit topped with peanut butter and syrup. Is it even possible to feed a young kid a bite without opening your mouth? I use that idea in my new release, The Refuge, when the Shaker sisters try to feed a baby that has landed in their care. They all help by opening their mouths to let the baby see how it’s done. 
But sometimes the best shoulder in all the world is a dad’s shoulder to rest your head against or to lift you high enough to see the sky.
Sometimes a dad can teach you that nonchalant stance and maybe give you that look if you get too smart alack. I think this girl might have been on the way to one of those looks.
And of course a dad’s hand is the best thing to hold when you’re venturing out into new waters and waves. Sometimes the hardest thing for a dad to do is turn loose of that hand and let their children test the waves on their own.
And most all dads can spout out a dadism now and again. Did you ever hear any of these when you were a kid?
- What did I just get finished telling you?
- My father used to tell me…
- Act your age
- If I didn’t hear it, you didn’t say it!
- What’s so funny? Wipe that smile off your face.
- We’ll do it the right way. My way.
- Don’t ask me, ask your mother.
- This is your last warning.
- Two wrongs do not make a right.
- Don’t use that tone with me!
- Am I talking to a brick wall?
- If I catch you doing that one more time, I’ll…
- Wipe your feet!
- Enough is enough!
- Don’t make me stop the car!
- What did I just get finished telling you?
- Don’t forget to check your oil.
So what were some of the things your dad said to keep you in line or maybe just some great advice for living?
P.S. The winner of last week’s blog giveaway was Nancy Thompson. Nancy picked my book, These Healing Hills, because she says her great great grandmother was a midwife in the mountains. That’s neat. She also won A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Wittmeyer as her grab bag book. Thank you all for leaving so many great comments on my last lines and the random lines from my stories. It helped me see your reader point of view. As always, thanks for reading. And I’ll do a new giveaway soon.
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My dad used to tell me, “If you do your ‘best’ no one can do any better.” It took me awhile to understand that.
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Sounds like your dad wanted you to be the best you could be, Kathy. I love all the positive dad advice.
Almost is not good enough.
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Best to get it done and done right, Lisa.
A couple I remember:
“Shut the door. Do you think we live in a barn?” or “I can’t afford to heat the outdoors!”
“If you cry, I’ll give you something to cry about!”
We traveled a lot by car in the summer and would have breakfast after spending a night in a motel. He knew I didn’t care for breakfast food and I could remember him one time asking if he could talk to the cook when the waitress told me they didn’t serve hamburgers for breakfast. I got a hamburger. 😊.
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What fun to have a dad who will go to bat for you when you’re a kid and make you feel loved, Karen. And he was right. There was no reason they couldn’t fry a hamburger in the morning. 🙂 But he also wanted you to shut those doors. My dad did too. And we had to fasten the doors just right on the outbuildings or we got fussed at. Dad had his ways of doing things that he was sure were best. I guess they were.
My dad never sang to me, but he recited poems and told me many stories. He taught me how to make a willow whistle, drive a tractor, and how to love and care for animals (esp. kitties). He built me bookshelves, a wooden toy box, and even built our home that we lived in. He always appreciated mom’s cooking and we would share our days around the supper table which would often get us to laughing. He loved to laugh! He played music in the evenings if he wasn’t too tired from working the farm; violin, guitar, banjo, accordion, piano, mouth harp, and in later years the electric organ. I never knew him to meet a musical instrument he couldn’t play. He gave me and our family so many gifts. A safe and secure home and he loved each and everyone of us. He may not have been a saint, but in my heart he was very very close. Happy Father’s Day to my Dad who I miss everyday!
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What wonderful memories and what a wonderful dad, Donna. Thank you for sharing that with us. I could see you sitting around the dinner table laughing and talking and then enjoying that music.
My sisters, brother and I often said we should make a list of our Dadisms.
He used to say: Don’t get your Mammy’s monkey in a fix. But I guess that’s not PC nowadays. I just thought it meant to stay out of trouble!
He said irregardless just because he knew it was wrong!
Sorry,
I can’t think of any more right now, I’m old!
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But you have good memories to call on, Paula. I can’t really think of a lot of things my dad said to keep us girls in line. That was Mom. But we worked with him out in the fields and did what he said without argument. If we grumbled, it was under our breath where he couldn’t hear.