Happy 83 Birthday, Dad!

My dad would have been 83 years old today, but he is celebrating this birthday up in heaven
with all those family and friends who have gone before us just as he has celebrated the last 21! When he died back in 1992 I didn't realize just how young he was. Now that I am fastly approaching the big 60 (Okay, not that fast, but I am 58) I now see that he really was not all that old! Age is so relevant!
Anyway God had the perfect plan for him and that is so apparent to us so we never questioned God's wisdom in calling him home when he did. Have we wished him back? Sure, countless times but would we really want him to leave the splendor of his heavenly home to return to our sinfilled world, NO WAY! We will see him soon enough as it is.
As a tribute to my dad I wanted to recall a few things that made him special to me and to all the others who knew him:

1. My dad was very social-loved people, loved parties. I think he was happiest when the house was filled with friends and family just having fun together.

2. My dad was a hard worker. He worked at the same factory all his life and for all those years I just figured you could never call him there or go inside the factory. When he was at work, he was unreachable. That is how it was in those days.

3. My dad "owned" all rights to the one car we had and the one TV we had-no remote either. We went where he took us and we watched what he wanted to watch. It was a simpler time where the Fathers were in control of the household.

4. My dad was a faithful man. He went to church, served on church boards, and in his own quiet say taught us to trust in God, too. The night before he died I saw him with his hands folded obviously carrying on a deep conversation with his heavenly Father. We didn't know that would be his last night on earth, but I think he knew it! (I take so much comfort in that, too)

5. My dad loved sports of all kinds. He played softball for years and I was one of the kids that grew up under the bleachers at numerous baseball fields. I was also one of those kids who ended up at a local tavern for a celebration after the games. Celebrations were big no matter what the outcome of the game.

6. My dad set the standards high for my brother and I. He expected good grades, good behavior, and good attitude from us. I learned from him how to expect that in my daughters, too.

7. My dad loved watching Hogan's Heroes every night when he got home from work. He also enjoyed a drink at that time. Now that I look back, I am thinking that was his way to unwind from the stress of the factory.

8. My dad loved his country and all celebrations that had to do with it. I don't know his political views since he did not talk Politics, but I know he voted and knew what a privilege that was.

9. My dad loved his granddaughters. He enjoyed spending time with them. I know he played a mean game of Monopoly on numerous occasions with them. He never got to meet Mallory or Tizita, but he knows about them.

10. My dad didn't have much money but he would have given you the shirt off his back if you needed it, that is the kind of man he was.

So, today, I will go visit him at the cemetery even though he is long gone from there, but I will still stop for a minute and say "Hello" and I will have a toast to him later tonight.

Even though the girls were young when he died and like I said he never met Mallory or Tizita, we have kept his memory alive. He is with us at every holiday and family celebration in the happy thoughts and memories that we share with one another. The grandkids all know him just as if he were still here with us and for that I am thankful because he was a man worth getting to know.

So Happy Birthday Dad and see you soon!