I feel such gratitude for the legacy my father left for me and my siblings. Every now and again, with good humor, I quote the shark in "Finding Nemo", exclaiming in my best British accent that "I never knew my Faaaaather!" Which of course, is not quite true. I was young when he passed away, but I do remember many wonderful things about my dad. And as I study what he believed and lived, I know him more.
Today, mom and I spent some time enjoying some of dad's old letters, albums, and keepsakes. Mom has saved his journals, personal letters, childhood pictures, and even letters he had written to local and national political leaders about certain government issues. He believed in our system of government and wasn't shy about voicing his opinion and affecting change. We found his scrapbook from his mission to Argentina and Bolivia and loved reading about his love for the people he served. He loved following Christ's example and thought more about the needs of others rather than his own. A divine trait that he kept with him for the rest of his life.
Tamra called while mom and I were still soaking up these memories, and I asked her to tell me something she remembered about dad that maybe I didn't. The first thing that came to her mind was how dad loved to conserve resources. The example she shared was of her walking down the stairs, as a teenager, carrying a laundry basket full of clothes. Dad stopped her, looking skeptically at the mountain of clothing, and made her take out several articles of clothing that he deemed "still wearable" before she started her load of laundry. I guess having seven children and one washer makes a dad think about those kinds of things. I don't remember that about dad, but that must be where I got my tendency to wear things more than once because I can't bear washing something that is technically "still wearable." FYI: "Still wearable" means that it passes the sniff test and has no large stains. In case that grossed anybody out, I should explain that "still wearable" never includes underwear.
Dad's desire to conserve resources lead him to always plant gardens wherever we lived, no matter how difficult the soil. He loved to provide for his family in any way possible. He loved to play the guitar and make up songs about our family and friends. I never knew which songs were his and which songs originated elsewhere. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned that John Denver wrote "Grandma's Featherbed." I loved how he always put his family first and taught us to love God and obey His commandments more by his example than by anything he said.
As I thought about my dad during this Sabbath day, I felt grateful for his example of faith and service. And I also felt grateful for how Heavenly Father has never ceased to provide my family and I with an abundance of blessings. I miss dad, of course, but I have had so many wonderful men and worthy priesthood holders in my life who have been helpful fathers to me. I know that Heavenly Father is constantly loving me and manifesting his power in my life through the kindness of great fathers, brothers, uncles, and dear friends. I have never had a lack of positive male influences in my life...and I'd like to think that dad uses any sort of pull that he may have from the next life to make sure of that.
Happy Father's day to all my "dads" and to my dear friends who are fathers-in-the-making.
Today, mom and I spent some time enjoying some of dad's old letters, albums, and keepsakes. Mom has saved his journals, personal letters, childhood pictures, and even letters he had written to local and national political leaders about certain government issues. He believed in our system of government and wasn't shy about voicing his opinion and affecting change. We found his scrapbook from his mission to Argentina and Bolivia and loved reading about his love for the people he served. He loved following Christ's example and thought more about the needs of others rather than his own. A divine trait that he kept with him for the rest of his life.
Tamra called while mom and I were still soaking up these memories, and I asked her to tell me something she remembered about dad that maybe I didn't. The first thing that came to her mind was how dad loved to conserve resources. The example she shared was of her walking down the stairs, as a teenager, carrying a laundry basket full of clothes. Dad stopped her, looking skeptically at the mountain of clothing, and made her take out several articles of clothing that he deemed "still wearable" before she started her load of laundry. I guess having seven children and one washer makes a dad think about those kinds of things. I don't remember that about dad, but that must be where I got my tendency to wear things more than once because I can't bear washing something that is technically "still wearable." FYI: "Still wearable" means that it passes the sniff test and has no large stains. In case that grossed anybody out, I should explain that "still wearable" never includes underwear.
Dad's desire to conserve resources lead him to always plant gardens wherever we lived, no matter how difficult the soil. He loved to provide for his family in any way possible. He loved to play the guitar and make up songs about our family and friends. I never knew which songs were his and which songs originated elsewhere. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned that John Denver wrote "Grandma's Featherbed." I loved how he always put his family first and taught us to love God and obey His commandments more by his example than by anything he said.
As I thought about my dad during this Sabbath day, I felt grateful for his example of faith and service. And I also felt grateful for how Heavenly Father has never ceased to provide my family and I with an abundance of blessings. I miss dad, of course, but I have had so many wonderful men and worthy priesthood holders in my life who have been helpful fathers to me. I know that Heavenly Father is constantly loving me and manifesting his power in my life through the kindness of great fathers, brothers, uncles, and dear friends. I have never had a lack of positive male influences in my life...and I'd like to think that dad uses any sort of pull that he may have from the next life to make sure of that.
Happy Father's day to all my "dads" and to my dear friends who are fathers-in-the-making.
6 comments:
I love this post Jane! I'm always so shocked to see the resemblance between your Dad and Joe- it's remarkable.
Oh, and Jeff's Dad loves playing Grandma's Featherbed...he will have to play it for you when you come!
I love you.
This is a wonderful post Jane- thanks for sharing (and thanks for posting on our little Pep girls blog! :)
touching. sweet, sweet jane.
Your most recent post was worth the wait! love the pictures too.
Love,
Pat
I just saw your post on my blog. What is that picture?
i wish i could have known him, but i guess is know a big part of him because i know and love you!
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