Thank You, Dad

This morning there is a trend going on....Thank You Dad. 

Fifteen years ago I lost my dad to heart disease and diabetes. I often think of the things he taught me and his influence on my life. 
He wasn't a perfect man but he was my hero....even if I would have argued the point in my teen years....I was such a shit. 

Thank you, Dad.

Thank you for teaching me to put jelly on my peanut butter sandwich to keep it from getting stuck on the roof of my mouth. 

Thank you for showing me the proper way to eat pizza....fold it first. No fork necessary because that's how us New Yorkers do it. 

Thank you for teaching me about my faith, for teaching me about not mixing milk with meat, that catfish don't have scales, and giving me my love of it. You were awesome when you stuck up for us when someone tried to give us milk to drink with a roast beef dinner. You stood taller than your six feet that day. I was so proud to be your daughter. 

Thank you for my "let's do it" attitude. When there was no synagogue at Floyd Bennett Field NAS you got approval to build one there...in addition to your own duties. So many people pitched in, even us kids. I beamed with pride when it was dedicated. One man's dream can be powerful.

Thank you for my love of country. You spent 20+ years in the Navy. You did it well. As the son of immigrants you believed in serving the country that provided a great way of life and allowed dreams and visions to become reality. 
I am proud to be a Navy brat and the daughter of a veteran. This is a great country and I am proud to live here.

Thank you for telling me I am smart and could do whatever I wanted to do...that I had it in me. You thought it was OK for me to love to read and gently scolded me for reading instead of paying attention in my less interesting classes. "Put the book away even if you are in the middle of the page." You didn't think I was weird when I would read the encyclopedia. 

Thank you for telling me I had the right to get angry, that my anger was valid....and thank you for telling me to forgive or that same anger would eat me up and ruin my marriage. We are still married. You didn't pick him for me but for the first time you approved of someone. 

Thank you for teaching me good manners....and to say Please, Thank you, and Excuse me. I taught those words to my daughter and she taught them to her children. Your legacy lives on.

Thank you for teaching me to set the table with proper placement for silverware and napkins. Comes in handy when I eat at nice places. The napkin goes in my lap.

Thank you for enforcing dinner time at the dinner table and encouraging conversation there. My husband and I still eat dinner at the table and save things to discuss over dinner. It brings us closer together.

Thank you for teaching me geometry....how an angle stays the same regardless of how large the triangle is..and how it is necessary for carpentry when school math had no practical purpose. I found out that algebra has a practical purpose, too...in nursing. 

Thank you for showing me that family comes first...that sometimes you have to sacrifice for your children, that working to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads is more important than getting your dirty or lack of sleep....that honest work is a blessing regardless of whether it is cleaning toilets or working at the top. 

Thank you for teaching me forgiveness....for accepting my "I'm sorry" when I was 18 for being such a shit when you first came home from Nam. You hugged me and told me it was OK and part of growing up....my growing up.  

So, thank you, Dad. You are still missed and thought of often. You might not have been perfect but you were perfect for me. 


Post by Eileen Patterson.....GoofingOff