My Daddy...

I was tagged the other day for a photo challenge by my blog friend Bev.  I was suppose to go to my 6th folder, 6th pic and post it with a little bit written about it.  Well, that picture turned out to be a picture of my Daddy when I was home for my last visit with him before he past away.  I did not want to post those pictures for personal reasons but also they just don't show the real Daddy except for the sparkle in his eyes.  So with that said, I decided to break the rules a bit and show everyone my Dad and all that made me love him show much.

A tribute to my Daddy...

My Daddy was such a wonderful man.  He had the most horrible childhood that one could imagine and still ended up being the most beautiful person I will ever know.  Both of his parents abandoned him and his siblings when they were young and they grew up in an orphanage.  Scum of the earth they were.  Luckily they had loving Aunt's, Uncle's and the greatest Grandmother in the world who brought them home for visits many times every week.  I believe that is what saved my Daddy and made him who he was.  No matter how bad things were while growing up he found a way to make his life better after he joined the US Army and met my Mom in Germany.  

(my Daddy as a young boy)

My Daddy always had the nicest smile and the brightest, happiest eyes I have ever known.  He always looked at the bright side of any situation and continued on with them and not the down side.  He always encouraged my brother, sister and I to do our best so that we can have wonderful, happy lives.  He taught us not to take things for granted because you never know when those special things will be gone. We learned that first hand when I was very little and my Mom was in a car accident and we nearly lost her.  I saw how strong my Daddy was for us three kids but also saw how horrible of a time this time was for him.  Luckily for all of us, Mom made it through this awful time. :)

(my Mom & Dad in '65)

Daddy always made holidays special but most of all always tried his darndest to make sure some special "normal" days for us also.  All of the day trips, vacations, and just going out to eat were made to be so memorable by my Daddy.  In those days (70's) going out to eat was a special thing and everybody dressed up for it.  And man did my Daddy love food!  I think that's why certain foods bring back so many memories for me now.  He always made holiday dinners a big deal and we had to make sure we had a little of everything. :)  And everyone had a new outfit for every holiday.  We had to look our bestest!

(my Dad & I  on my 1st Easter)

(my Mom & Dad one Easter)

I had always taken for granted that my Daddy was the greatest just because until I found out a few months before we all lost him, what really made him the person he was.  When I found out about his childhood and what he went through, I cried so much every day for a few weeks at the least.  I could not figure how anyone could bring such a beautiful person into this world and not love them like they should be loved.  The only thing I thank those two people for is giving me my Daddy.  Now knowing all he went through, I know now he always wanted to make sure we knew he loved us and that he did everything in his power to make a happy, good life for us growing up.  Even though he thought he had not done enough for us, he could never measure the true intensity of every little thing he ever did.  Just being our Daddy was all that was needed, and those most wonderful hugs and kisses.

(my Dad, Brendon & Em into mountains of Idaho)

My Daddy loved his wife & children with no ending.  But let me tell you about his love for his grand babies!  There was no greater smile on a person (I've been told) than when he was told his 1st grand baby was a boy!  Everyone in the family was woke up at 2am that morning to be told about the grand event, Mr. Brendon was born! :)  And when Miss Em arrived, WOW!  The same if not a bit more.  I could not talk to him on the phone and tell him how those two would be in trouble for something and then get a talking to myself about not being too rough on either of them!  I would remind him of how I would have been "straightened" out and he told me that was different. :)  That was Papa for you. :)  He did not get to meet Brenna, for she was born 1yr & 1mth after we lost Daddy.  I look at her at times though and wonder if some of my Dad's soul is in her.  She definitely has his spunk and determination with everything in life.  We found out by sure surprise that we were expecting her a few months after  Daddy passed and I wonder how those mysterious things work.  I often wonder if Dad had something to do with the timing of this particular little blessing.  Who knows, but I know he is smiling down upon her also with shear delight and laughing his tail off with every thing she gets herself into.  Thanks Daddy! :)

So thank you for being my Daddy and loving me unconditionally.  I miss our daily phone calls and not a day goes by that I don't think of you and get a tear in my eye.  My Daddy would have been 67 this past Feb. 3rd.  We lost him March '03 and it is still rough for me from time to time.

So I will leave you all now that you know just a wee bit about my Daddy and how freakin' awesome he was! :D  He is my hero and always will be.  When I hear anyone say that they have a pitiful life because of their up bringing, I tell them they are full of  sh**, and that is a very poor excuse for not applying themselves in life and just being plain lazy.  My Daddy could have easily used that as an excuse (believe me) and we would have had the most pitiful lives ourselves along with him.  But that man decided he was going to be better and make sure that his family knew that he loved them and appreciated every day with them.  No life is perfect or smooth going but my Daddy  made the rest of his life wonderful along with ours. And with that, I leave you with a challenge to not have self pity when things are bad because if you knew the WHOLE story of my Daddy, you don't know bad nor ever will.  Don't take the most important things for granted.  Where you live, what you wear, the cars you drive or even the amount of money you have don't mean a thing if you don't have happiness and a most loving family in your life.  Things don't make you YOU, how you live every day with happiness in your life makes you and the choices you have made to be happy.

So in the spirit of the photo challenge, I challenge the following to go to your photos, go to the 6th folder, the 6th picture and post about it. 

Julie

Lucy

Judy

LuAnne

Lallee

Hen

Love you all!  Thanks for visiting and being my blog friends! :D  You brighten my days!