Friday, February 2, 2007

Dad

After watching a clip of the Dr. Phil show yesterday about someone's destructive dad, I left to pick up Pax from school. I started thinking about my dad in a light-hearted way and how he was a really good one. Generous came to my mind first. Freedom came next - I realise now that some dads are overbearing or too sheltering but my dad was at the other end of that spectrum, for me anyway. He laid down the law when I was little, and from that point gave out more and more freedom. The third thing that came rattling off the press of my brain on my seven minute trek down Rt. 50 was that my 6 brothers and their friends treated me really well while I was growing up. That is no small thing and I attribute it to my dad's good example.
What three things come to mind when you think of your father?

5 comments:

Sienna said...

good question mom.

creative.
listener.
the example.
trusting.
really sees his children.
giving.
adoring.
teacher.
interesting(to us) and interested(in us).
bold.
consistently captivating.
hilarious.
quirky.
freaking cool.

okay i know that's more than 3. but 3 just can't sum up my father...

-sienna

Sienna said...

unique, attentive, wise

Sue said...

what a great blog! it is a wonderful way to keep in touch. I wish I had more time, though!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Mrs. Howard! This is Sarah Funke. I can't resist a chance to say wonderful things about my dad, so here goes:

1. Patient.
2. Proud of his daughters.
3. Punster/prankster (I have to get my horrendous sense of humor from somewhere....)

More? Please?

4. Consistent
5. Crazily creative problem-solving skills (although once this skill backfired when he tried to use m & m's as ear plugs when he had nothing else on an airplane...)
6. Self-sacrificing (he is bored stiff by museums, theatre, films, but loves to take his daughters b/c they love to go)
7. Totally un-self-conscious (stories of him pantomiming chickens in an Austrian grocery store come to mind. We were looking for eggs. Somehow the Austrians understood what we wanted, but it was quite a show...)
8. So very very humble
9. Merciful
10. Slow to anger

Anonymous said...

From feetofclay's big brother via email:
"Three things: He was a very social person....he would go and speak to anyone, anywhere....
whether you wanted to hear it or not.He was mentally strong ... didn't let pressures get him down...could go to sleep anyplace and at any time. He was very brave... would dig a basement underground, punch you in the nose, never miss a day of work.
He enjoyed fixing breakfast for anyone brave enough to eat it.
oh well...that's 4