My Dad

Something’s you just don’t appreciate about your parents until you become one. Last night, everyone was asleep except for me who was quietly sneaking around putting up folded laundry. This made me wonder how many more times will I do this as a parent? How many times did my parents do the same for me without anybody ever knowing? I thought of my dad, someone who works without talking (Unlike myself). I should say, after 24 years of asking and borderline interrogating my dad, I know a fraction of his life story. He is not one to tell his accomplishments, so I figured as his very talkative daughter I could share some of the few but great stories I know. As the oldest of four kids he learned responsibility young. His first job was picking cotton for something like 50 cents an hour. He used this money to pay cash for his first car, a gray corvette. He was the first one in his family to go to college. He put himself through on an ROTC scholarship. He also ran track all while completing his engineering degree at Auburn University. War Eagle! At one point in college he lived in a condemned house that had rodents living in it, so he outlined the path to and from his mattress on the floor with bug repellant so he could sleep in the house. I am not sure I could say I would do that just to be at college. After graduation and flight school he flew harriers for the USMC for 21 years and retired a lieutenant colonel. This further strengthened his discipline and work ethic. At the age of 67, he can still put me to shame doing yard work or any other kind of work for that matter. Once he drove from Montreal Canada to MHC NC and only stopped for my mom to pee. Thank God I was not on that trip. I often think of my dad when I eat a good meal because he is not only an impressive cook but hands down can grill the best steak on the east coast and arguably all of America. As long as I can remember, our house has always had good food, our backyard has always had a garden, and our closets have always had a gun. My dad tends to act like a real bad ass but when I saw him hold my daughter I realized he is actually quit the softy. My dad has survived a heart attack, an aortic aneurysm (which he drove himself to the hospital when he was having), cancer, E.coli, and 2 hip replacements. As the most stubborn person I know, I think he may very well out live us all. My dad taught me a few things that I am still working on perfecting: work more than you talk, what others think about you is never as important as what you think about yourself, and never never never give up.