Another rainy (actually stormy) day in Lakeland, Florida. We have had rain all week. We need it. Not complaining, but just saying....it is raining AGAIN!
We don't have any plans for Father's Day. The boys live too far away, and Tristan and his mom are in Scandinavia for a vacation. Of course, I will make sure Joe gets a nice meal and I do have a card for him. Fortunately, he is feeling much better. Not 100%, but much better.
Speaking of Father's Day.... a little tribute to celebrate my dad. I lost him to lung cancer, in 1989. He was only 63 years old. It feels so different, now that I am in my 63rd year, to think of him at my age, suffering like he did for a year and a half.
He was so much fun. He made great pancakes for breakfast on weekends. He had a great recipe for hot peppers that would make your eyes water, but being in the kitchen while they were cooking could cook your sinuses. He cared about us 'kids' and our friends. Our home was always open to friends and neighbors. He was raised on a farm, he was a pilot (single-engine planes) and met my mom because she wanted to take a plane ride (set up by Dad's brother, with whom she worked). He only went through 11th grade, quitting school to join the Army, right at the end of WWII. He never served because the war ended and he was discharged. He worked for the Federal Government, at a job he didn't really like, but he rose to a GS11 and supported his family. We didn't have everything we might have wanted, but we did have everything we needed, and all the love and support anyone could desire.
Dad was a do-it-yourselfer, and we grew up learning to pound a nail, take small appliances apart to fix them, building, puttering, gardening... I miss his huge garden. I miss him. He would be so proud of his grandchildren today. Anyway, here are a few photos I posted on Facebook, and probably here at some time. If you've seen them already, sorry to make you look again!
Wishing you all a good weekend!! Happy Father's Day to all the dads & grandpas (and single moms, who have to be a dad, too). Count your blessings! I know you do.
I enjoyed the tribute to your Dad and the pictures. You and I were blessed to have such a great Dad!
ReplyDeleteGlad Joe is feeling better!
Thanks for sharing some more great memories of your family. I know Joe will love his card and nice meal a lot. Hope he's feeling better today. Have you heard from Tristan in Norway?
ReplyDeleteYou certainly had a great Dad and were blessed. Love seeing the old pictures. Fathers Day is a little hard for me, because my parents divorced when I was 3 and I never knew him at all.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your father. It sounds like he was a good parent. And you were blessed to have him there for you while you were growing up. I didn't.
ReplyDeleteGlad Joe is feeling better.
Love looking at your Dad's smiling face, again. He was so special, and I was one of those lucky friends of your's he allowed into his kitchen. I knew I always had a standing "date" on Friday nights, cooking those hot peppers with your Dad.
ReplyDeleteYour dad looks like he was quite tall. You wrote a nice tribute to him. I am sooooo glad to hear Joe is improving.
ReplyDeleteTalking about the age of death of our parents, it definitely is weird to be their ages and think about life being over for them when we still have quite a bit of energy left.
Your dad sounds great. I am glad Joe is feeling better. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy looking at your photos..Happy Father's Day, Joe. Loved your tribute. Blessings
ReplyDeleteLovely tribute to your dad. My dad worked at a job he didn't like too! That's just what you did to support your family in those days. I didn't even know he didn't like it until I was about to graduate from college and he told me NOT to get a job with the post office. (He was a mail handler.)
ReplyDeleteAwww Terri, thank you so much for sharing these pictures and a tribute to your dad. Our dads passed away with only 7 years in between. My dad passed away in 1982 in his 50's with a brain tumor. Isn't it amazing what people can accomplish because they have a family to support. This current generation could learn so much from the likes of our parents, if they had a mind to.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Joe is doing better. :) You must be a good nurse! :)
Awww...Terri that was a beautiful tribute to your dad! He sounded like an amazing man! I loved the pictures you posted. I think you look so much like your mom. Do you get told that often? We have been so lucky with the rain here. We have been getting it one or two days but it has been during the week. Our weekends have been beautiful. I'm happy to hear that Joe is feeling better...please wish him a Happy Father's Day for me. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteEven tho you and I have lost our fathers, this memorial and sharing of such great times together is terrific.
ReplyDeletePS...when he was young he looked a lot like Jimmy Palmer from NCIS.
A lovely tribute to your dad. It is strange to understand better things our parents went through at the same age we are now. My dad died at 60 and my mom at 58. It's been a while since I've had them around and I would have loved for them to see their grandchildren too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute. Thank you for sharing.
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