Skip to main content

To My Dad

To this day, one of my favorite smells is the mix of motor oil and orange scented cleaner. My dad is a mechanic and the cleaner was what he used (uses?) on his hands.

Whenever we went camping, my dad always brought his guitar. That is one of the reasons I play too.

One of the only memories I have of childhood is after I learned to ride a bike. One day I dragged my dad all over town on our bikes. We stopped for Creamies and squeaky cheese at this little dairy store that is no longer there.

I always loved my orchestra concerts. I think more than the playing and being on stage, I loved knowing that if my dad had made it to the concert, I was going to be able to get ice cream with him at the nearby Artic Circle.

My dad taught me how to camp, how to love old country music, how to make cookies...my dad makes a mean cookie!

Thinking of his smile and laughter Always makes me miss him. And then I cry.

He taught me it's okay to cry, even if you're a tough old mechanic.

By example, he taught me that you do what needs to be done. It doesn't matter how busy you are, how inconvenient it may be. Buck up and get it done.

He taught me how to fish. Which I love. Even if I just throw the poor suckers back where they came from, traumatized and worse for the wear.

One pair of glasses. Two knee surgeries. Three broken arms. Four pre-mission exams. Five wisdom teeth.

I love my dad. And I get him forever. I am one lucky girl. His favorite too (don't tell my sisters).

I'm lucky. I have a one-of-a-kind dad, a loving step-dad, and an uncle who has always loved me as his own. How many girls get to say they have three dads??

   
            Make that four. And I thank Him often for the other three.

Comments

J said…
Thanks for making me cry sis! sheesh!
Oh you're welcome! That's what sisters are for... right?

Popular posts from this blog

getting to and through YEAR ONE

Hello? Oh, Hello there! I am excited to talk more about my summer as I enjoy the last few days before I dive into studying hard. It is almost the beginning of the second year of medical school. Last year was one of the hardest years of my life. I experienced more pain, suffering, doubt, tears, and heartache than I have ever before in such large doses. I staggered under the weight of my fears and found myself often on my knees with no where else to turn. It was a beautiful place to find myself. Of course it is easy to say that now, looking back as I stand proud. There was a lot that went into my decision to go to medical school. Ultimately it took a lot of prayer and a lot of planning. It took a lot of service hours, a lot of hard work in my undergrad, a lot of conversations with my mother. It was a grueling process which no one can understand until you've been through it. I often doubted I was making the right choice. As I was preparing for the MCAT, which is the entr...

D/C 139:26

 First of all, I'm going to go on a little complaining rant. I hate cats. I am not a cat person. The only time I like cats is when they are cuddly and asleep. They smell, the make loud noises when they drink from water bowls, they cry a lot to come in or out, and they clean themselves in a way that always grates on my nerves.  Okay, now that that's out of the way, my second line of business on blogger today: Surgery recovery update! I went and saw Larry today and he said the knee is lookin' goood :) Not in so many words because Larry never has anything really positive to say (which is fine and doesn't make me like him any less) but he didn't dis my work on my knee so it's aaall good. I still have to wear my sports brace... I guess I should amend that and say Larry says I should still be wearing it... and I haven't been but I didn't tell Larry that. The guy might get all Larry on me. But I will try and be more diligent in my brace wearing in the future....

From Omaha, NE

The idea for this blog post comes from a blog I occasionally read called The Freckled Fox . She calls these posts "Taking Stock": Seeing:  all the dogs sleeping, a nephew playing, ceiling fans turning, grey clouds. Making:  an effort to not disappear into the bedroom I'm staying at while in Nebraska with family (kids'll do that to me) Cooking:  nothing. Since I'm visiting family in Omaha, I haven't done much cooking. But while here I have made my absolute favorite PB cookies which are easy and delicious Drinking:  sooooo much water - still not enough Reading:  a guide for everything you need to know about medical school and Pushkin's Eugene Onegin Hearing:  the pot on the stove cooking the bottles which contain my SIL Nicole's homemade spaghetti sauce Wanting:  the next year to speed by - I am tired of fretting about med school applications and would like the whole thing finished - please? Looking:  forward to visiting the zoo to...