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you guys get this mostly because I need a place I can find this quickly in the future that isn't facebook, but also just because

Posted by dogbert Jul 8 '13, 16:30
I learned a lot from dad in my life, even the little things were important. I learned to love golf, and that wasn't easy. Every Sunday if I wanted to watch tv, I would have to watch golf with dad. I had a conversation with my nephew last month where we agreed that watching golf is about as boring as it gets, but once I started playing I had a greater enjoyment because I understood the game more. When he would take me out I learned to be quiet when people were playing, not so much being respectful to the game, but being respectful to people, even strangers.

I learned to love naps. At every family gathering we all knew at some point dad would fall asleep on the couch. My coworkers can verify that I learned this well because every day after lunch they see me asleep in the break room.

I learned about proverbs. Out of nowhere dad would say to me "did you know..." and I knew I was going to hear something I had heard many times before. "Did you know.. that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?"... "yes dad, I know. you have told me that a hundred times".... "Oh, well did you know.. that a penny saved is a penny earned?". My young adult self would think 'wow, dad thinks he knows everything', and then one day we bought a game called trivial pursuit and in the very first game dad won with only one turn and I thought 'oh no, he really does know everything'

With dad you always knew where you stood, always supportive and always having your back. Sometimes he was subtle, when I moved out for the first time, he knew I wasn't prepared but he didn't say that but he told me "I won't help you move out, but if you need it I will help you move back". Sometimes he wasn't subtle. Mom and dad would come to most of my baseball games. I would know mom was there because I saw her, I would know dad was there because I heard him. If a made a good play in the field or got a hit, everyone would hear a thunderous "WAY TO GO!" In those three words he let everyone know that he had my back and was proud of me. At an age when most things my parents did had the potential to embarrass us, this never did because when I would hear him shout "WAY TO GO!" I knew he saw what I had accomplished and he was proud of me.

His father passed at a young age and never saw all his grandchildren, because of this we would often hear him say "I hope I live long enough to see my grandchildren", it was a not so subtle hint to my brothers and me. Dad often said things like this, the earliest I recall was "I hope I live to see Haley's comet". As a freshman in high school it scared me to think that dad was concerned about dying. Once Haley's comet came and went the line would be replaced with others over the years. "I hope I live to see the Berlin Wall come down" or "I hope I live to see the millennium". They weren't nearly as scary as the first one, but he would always throw in a reminder that he would love to see his grandchildren. The reason for this is that dad loved children, and his own children had grown up and no longer went running to him with bear hugs. He was also a big man who towered over kids and unfortunately would be intimidating and scary to them. His favorite character was the beast from beauty and the beast. I always felt that he saw a little of himself in the beast, kind of a gentle giant. Because of this when there were kids who weren't scared to come up to him, he ate it up. Two of my cousins kids in particular, Kelly and Kimberly, would just love to sit by him and play or talk with him. Dad would just beam at family reunions when they would make a bee-line to him when they saw him.

Eventually dad got what he always wanted when Rich and Louann gave him three grandchildren (thank you for picking up the slack with Al and myself). Kyle, Zack and Elizabeth, the three of you gave papa so much happiness every time you would run across the room smiling to give him the biggest hugs you could because with you three, he had his children again. With all the ups and downs this life gives us, he could always look at the three of you and know that him and mom did something so very right.

So as we say goodbye to dad today I think quoting him will say it all, because we have seen with you have achieved, we saw you accomplishments, and we are so proud of you! WAY TO GO DAD! WAY TO GO!

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