Daddy

Jan. 30, 2019

My dad, father of four girls, would have been 101 years old today. He died in October of 2001, 83  years old after suffering a stroke in his seventies. He had to leave his beloved farm in Aitkin, Minnesota behind which we ALL came to know and love. He and mother moved here to Jacksonville for about three years until he had an episode at the hospital which mother felt could have been avoided and she wanted nothing more to do with these Jacksonville doctors! So, back they moved to Aitkin into a nice apartment  at BlackRock Independent Living where daddy lived another three years and mother a very happy 11 more years. I'm so grateful they spent out their last days in that area they had come to love so much for the 30 years they lived there during retirement.

Daddy was a complex man. He was often moody, sometimes grouchy,but he loved his girls and his grandchildren, his woods and his farm which was a continual vacation for him, even though he kept preaching and built the Cascade Methodist Church in Crosby. He was a constant support to Becky, my youngest sister, who lived down the road in a log home. They cut wood together, made maple syrup together and he and her two children Brekke and Peter became very close.

I gained a new appreciation for him this  week as I was talking to Kari about  in laws visiting and griping about the shower, the cold room, etc. etc. I hearkened back to mother and daddy visiting us on Sandusky in Jacksonville from Minnesota and staying for a few days....they never complained about the one shower with 8 of us sharing it. They never complained about  having to sleep on an air mattress in the back room...they just decided to buy a nice trundle bed for the girls' room that they could use when they visited. Why in the world didn't we offer them our bed? I have no idea but am a bit ashamed of my selfishness there. Mother cleaned the refrigerator, made curtains, made homemade applesauce in season; daddy fixed things, cut wood, relaxed, went to games with us and never complained. I am grateful for that now in retrospect...now that I am now the grandparent visiting the children's homes where it isn't your bed, your shower, your heat, your schedule, but it is all worth it to  get to spend time with precious children and grandchildren!

I'm sure that was his and mother's attitudes as well...they loved their family, they loved their home, but they loved us more. Thank you Daddy for loving your four girls...taking us fishing, on vacation, teaching us to drive a stick shift and instilling us with independence. Happy Birthday. I love you