A Tribute to Daddy

**I apologize for posting this a second time! Our scanning software was not working when I first published this entry last month and now it is complete with an old family photo!**

It was 17 years ago today that I lost my daddy.  I miss him like it was yesterday, but the years have somehow flown right by!  I always remember losing him when I begin to feel the warm sun and a cool September breeze at the same time. I look around and see the fields and trees beginning to change to bright hues of gold and remember that it is September.

I used to not really think about September because it was somewhere between the end of summer and the Oktoberfest. Now, it is an important time to remember.  I do remember Dad's suffering and pain. He had diabetes since his late teen's or early 20's.  The last couple years of his life were most difficult with having a partial leg amputation, kidney failure that needed dialysis, etc.  He had been a very busy physician for most of his adult life, taking care of others.  It was SO HARD for him to have to depend on other people caring for him!

I am sad when I think about that last September and my visits to the hospital in between my classes at college. At least I went to school in the same town!  I remember my last conversation with him.  I told him that I loved him and that I would see him tomorrow.  I think he knew that tomorrow would not come, but didn't tell me - still wanting to protect his daughter.  I wish I had stayed with him longer that night.  I felt guilt for years that I was not there when he died in the middle of the night, but we have all discussed how he couldn't "let go" until he was alone.  He didn't want to leave us behind and he cared about us so much.  I don't blame him!  He was only 47 years old.

I am sad, but as I have become a parent I am even more thankful.  I have so many memories of my Dad!  He was the kind of guy who was funny, joking, and hardly ever lost his temper.  He could relate to anybody.  We would go on house calls with him out to the old farmers who were sick and they would give us summer sausage or eggs or candy.  He loved to walk around out in the woods or pasture and tend to our livestock and pets, go fishing and canoeing, or swim in the pool.  I liked being with him because he always knew everyone in town. He loved getting us all lots of Christmas presents and I helped him wrap them. He taught me how to fish, shoot a basketball, and how to make French Toast.  Lots of people have funny stories to tell of him and how he also cared for their families. He always read the Christmas story to us from Luke on Christmas Eve.  He had a faith in God that spilled over into the lives of those around him because he demonstrated God's love to all of us.  He believed in me and helped me keep going when it got hard.

I was reading Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson last night for the first time.  In one of the chapters he quotes another author, Dr. Meg Meeker, who wrote Strong Fathers, Strong Girls.  This is just a short excerpt from that quote.  She writes, "Fathers inevitably change the course of their daughters' lives - and can even save them.  From the moment you set eyes on her wet-from-the-womb body until she leaves your home, the clock starts ticking.  It's the clock that times your hours with her, your opportunities to influence her, to shape her character, and to help her find herself - and to enjoy living."  I believe that all parents influence their children in great ways - for bad or good - and I am so thankful that I had a dad that was doing exactly what Dr. Meeker wrote about!  He worked long hours in service to the community, but I don't remember him being gone, I remember the times we had together!

September 17 is always a mixture of emotions for me. I miss Dad, love him, and wish he could be here to meet my kids.  Yet, I am so thankful for a loving, caring, sacrificing kind of dad that he was for us.  I am grateful for the years that I had with him here in my life. I am proud of the legacy that he left behind. I am looking forward to being with him one day again, joining him in worship of our King!  Thank you, Daddy!!