On August 15 my dad passed away from complications he sustained in a tractor accident. Even as I sit and type this, it doesn't seem real to me. He was so strong and tough that I never imagined a time that he wouldn't be here, especially not this early in life. (He was only 63 and had just retired in May). I still think that he is just on a long vacation and will be coming home soon.....
My mom married my dad when I was almost five and my sister was 2. From the very beginning, we called him dad and there was never a time that I didn't feel like I was his own daughter. Even when my brothers came along, I never felt like he played favorites. I knew he was proud of all of us just the same. The funny thing was, even though we came from divorced parents and went with my dad every other weekend, I didn't think my family was any different. I had a "real family" just like everyone else. I have always been grateful to my dad for taking on my sister and I but I think I have realized even more though, what an amazing thing he did, the last few years as I have been trying to blend my own little family. It really isn't that easy to take on kids that aren't your own, to try to be fair, to not play favorites and to love them as much as you do your own. My dad did it though, and made it seem so easy.
My dad taught me so many things throughout my life, he was one of the wisest persons that I have ever known or will probably ever know. He taught all of us to be hard workers. He taught us by his great example, he was a true "farm boy" and knew what hard work was. Sometimes he would tease us,when one of us did something dumb, and say "What are you, a subdivision kid?" We knew he was only kidding though, because he joked around with us a lot. I think that's one of the biggest things I will miss about my dad. He was always teasing and joking around. I think I might have gotten it a little more than everyone else though. I'm not sure if it was because I was an easy target or just took it better than anyone else. I loved it though, because I knew that was one of the ways he showed us he loved us.
There are so many things I can say about my dad....I know I would not be where I am today without him. He taught all of us that our word was one of the most important things we had. I always knew that if I wanted someone to be honest and blunt with me, I could go to me dad and he would tell me what he thought. A lot of times I needed that and I loved that he would do that for me. He showed us through the love and sacrifices he made, that family was one of the most important things ever. I could say without a doubt, that I knew my family would be there for me whenever I needed them. My dad taught us to be there for each other. He and my brothers were best friends, that is the neatest thing to me. He would rather spend time with them than any of his friends. He had a lot of friends too. Even though he had this tough exterior, people wanted to be his friend...I think they felt special to be his friend because he didn't let just anyone into his life.
I think the kind of man my dad was, really shows through my mom, my two little brothers, my sister and I. My dad was so proud of all of us, the way the 4 of us turned out and the adults we had become but it really is because of how he raised us...I owe so much to my dad and the only way I will be able to show him is by living the way he taught me to live........To work hard, and to teach my kids to be hard workers, (as hard as it may be sometimes) to be honest, humble, to love my family more than anything, to make life fun and make the most of the life I have been given.
I am going to miss my dad so much!! I am so grateful that he is my dad and for all that he taught me! I am so grateful for the Atonement and Eternal families, I know that I will see him again some day. There have been soooo many people that have been there for our family during this past month. Thank you to all of our friends, family, neighbors and others that have helped us in so many different ways!!!
My mom married my dad when I was almost five and my sister was 2. From the very beginning, we called him dad and there was never a time that I didn't feel like I was his own daughter. Even when my brothers came along, I never felt like he played favorites. I knew he was proud of all of us just the same. The funny thing was, even though we came from divorced parents and went with my dad every other weekend, I didn't think my family was any different. I had a "real family" just like everyone else. I have always been grateful to my dad for taking on my sister and I but I think I have realized even more though, what an amazing thing he did, the last few years as I have been trying to blend my own little family. It really isn't that easy to take on kids that aren't your own, to try to be fair, to not play favorites and to love them as much as you do your own. My dad did it though, and made it seem so easy.
My dad taught me so many things throughout my life, he was one of the wisest persons that I have ever known or will probably ever know. He taught all of us to be hard workers. He taught us by his great example, he was a true "farm boy" and knew what hard work was. Sometimes he would tease us,when one of us did something dumb, and say "What are you, a subdivision kid?" We knew he was only kidding though, because he joked around with us a lot. I think that's one of the biggest things I will miss about my dad. He was always teasing and joking around. I think I might have gotten it a little more than everyone else though. I'm not sure if it was because I was an easy target or just took it better than anyone else. I loved it though, because I knew that was one of the ways he showed us he loved us.
There are so many things I can say about my dad....I know I would not be where I am today without him. He taught all of us that our word was one of the most important things we had. I always knew that if I wanted someone to be honest and blunt with me, I could go to me dad and he would tell me what he thought. A lot of times I needed that and I loved that he would do that for me. He showed us through the love and sacrifices he made, that family was one of the most important things ever. I could say without a doubt, that I knew my family would be there for me whenever I needed them. My dad taught us to be there for each other. He and my brothers were best friends, that is the neatest thing to me. He would rather spend time with them than any of his friends. He had a lot of friends too. Even though he had this tough exterior, people wanted to be his friend...I think they felt special to be his friend because he didn't let just anyone into his life.
I think the kind of man my dad was, really shows through my mom, my two little brothers, my sister and I. My dad was so proud of all of us, the way the 4 of us turned out and the adults we had become but it really is because of how he raised us...I owe so much to my dad and the only way I will be able to show him is by living the way he taught me to live........To work hard, and to teach my kids to be hard workers, (as hard as it may be sometimes) to be honest, humble, to love my family more than anything, to make life fun and make the most of the life I have been given.
I am going to miss my dad so much!! I am so grateful that he is my dad and for all that he taught me! I am so grateful for the Atonement and Eternal families, I know that I will see him again some day. There have been soooo many people that have been there for our family during this past month. Thank you to all of our friends, family, neighbors and others that have helped us in so many different ways!!!
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4 comments:
What a great man. I love you and miss you. We keep your family in our prayers.
I am sorry for your loss. I know you are a great person and I'm glad to hear that he was such a big part of that.
I was thinking of Kaiden today, because of his birthday tomorrow, and thought I would look in on your blog. I am so sorry for your loss Kristen. Losing someone so close has to be hard. I hope you are doing well. Please wish Happy Birthday to Kaiden for me.
Your post brought back a lot of memories of my Mom's death. I think the same thing about it not being real. It was 5 years ago this month and I still don't feel like it is real.... It sucks to lose parents that are still so young..but I take comfort knowing that they are still around watching over us.
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