Making Memories - What have you done with your Dad

[GeneD14]

When I was younger I worked with my dad building houses and garages. In the last 10 years he helped me paint a tractor, road on tractor caravans together and have been to lots of antique tractor shows. He is 81 years old now and lives about 9 hours away. When we get to see each other I try to "soak it up".

 

[TripleR]

Very much like 2LaneCruzer and like ovrszd I spend a lot of time with our kids.

 

[Wagtail]

Nothing 'made', per se... it just 'occurred'. I was home on Leave (Navy) and one afternoon a thunderstorm was rolling in. Instead of watching "the game" on TV, he and I went out to the garage and listened to it over the radio whilst drinking beer, sitting in our lawn chairs and watching the approaching storm together.

Magic.

Skype came too late for calling Mum but it was there for Dad. Called him on Skype twice a week up until he went into hospice... told him I loved him every time and he eventually became comfortable enough to say the same to me. He knew he was loved...

... never miss an opportunity to tell someone that they are loved.

 

[oosik]

I can still remember the ONE time my dad expressed an emotion. It was 1949. We were out training a couple of his bird hunting dogs. A couple guys took the two other puppies that were in his car. It was about half a mile away. I've never ran so fast in all my life. Back to the car - chase after the guys in their pickup. Right thru the middle of town at 60+ mph. Of course, the local LEO took chase. Bottom line - guys were caught - puppies were OK.

Otherwise - my father might as well have been the fifth face at Mt Rushmore. I know my father loved me but not once a spoken word.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Had my extended family over today for my 48th birthday. My dad, father-in-law, brother, brother-in-law and I all had a great time target shooting in the back yard. The next generation is learning the fine art of shooting too. The youngest has a nerf gun so he can participate too!

 

[TripleR]

Love that picture with the little ones.

 

[Cat_Driver]

The only memories I have is following my day around a junk yard as he looked for cheap parts to repair his car. I remeber him arguing with the counter for 30 minutes to save a quarter.

I never understood why he as never around until I was much older. He worked two full time jobs 60 miles apart as a union welder for Euclid Trucks and Military Tanks.

I did tha math, 16 hours a day working with 2 hours driving a day and the weekends keeping the old used car running. I remember communicating with him by leaving a taped recorded message to him when he got home at midnight and him leaving me a taped message in the morning as he was already gone again for his shift. I sure wish I had those tapes today.

Remember back in the 60's as a union welder he was making undr $3.00 an hour.

Poor guy, provided well for the family, but he darn near worked himself to death. I remember him telling me he would use his break time to sit on the toilet and take a 15 minute nap at times, and still weld his quota for the day.

What he did teach me without knowing it it to spend every spare moment with my child and never choose work over family, which made me a better Dad to my daughter.

 

[drssg]

He told me he loved me...the first time I had ever heard that word from him...about a week before he died.

Some people are like that, particularly from the WWII era. The last time I spoke with my father, I kissed him on the top of his forehead and told him, "I love you." It clearly made him uncomfortable, but it was what I needed to do. He mumbled something - I think it was, "Same here."

As a kid, I felt like a pathetic weakling, because I wasn't like him. As a young adult, I developed a more self-righteous attitude that he was defective. Later in life, I accepted and respected him for what he is. He sure knew how to take anything that life handed him and make the best of it.

There was only one time that I thought he might be showing some melancholy. It was dusk on a fall day, and he was looking out the window with a far-away look in his eyes. He simply said, "The days are getting shorter." I thought he might have been noting that he had been bed-ridden long enough to watch the seasons change. But who knows. He may have just been talking about the weather.

 

[oosik]

drssg - My father was that way also. He had been a participant in WWII and, because of his college degrees, in a very unfortunate way. He spent the entire war in the Biological & Chemical warfare development area. He had seen one area where man could do the very worse to man. He NEVER spoke of it - he probably was not allowed to speak of it. My mother always said he came out of the war a completely different person. WWII and all its atrocities is a terrible thing to keep all bottled up in a person.

 

[Sigarms]

My 88 year old dad has been living with us for the last year here in NC.

BEST trip I ever took was 16 years ago when I had myself, my girlfriend and my dad go out to Utah with me hiking (since my mom died couple years before I met this woman, my father and I had the trip planned anyways).

My father loved my girlfriend (at the time) better than me, so I knew she would be the woman I'd want to marry (she's a better christian and person then I'll ever be).

To this day with my father now living with us, he likes my wife better than me LOL





After my dad broke his back last year, he really has slowed down.

Relationship with my one son is worse than I had with my dad. Still trying to work on that. Never knew back then how hard being a dad could be. The hard part is my father and I never really got along when I was a teenager, and seems the same with my one teen now.