Hey, I haven’t been quite myself of late and so I have posted an article over at Buzzing with Ange which should explain it for you in more detail. What I would like from you is to share something about your dad, preferably something inspiring and light hearted if you please. The reason being that my dad is lying in a hospital bed waiting to undergo open heart surgery and I am feeling a little vulnerable at the moment.
I am the designated driver for all his doctors appointments and in that time we have shared in the car, we have been able to talk about stuff and I have learned a few more things about him in the last few weeks that may not have come up in conversation otherwise.
Here’s just a few of the things I love about my dad… Joe…
Nothing is ever too much trouble for him.
When I first moved out of home, he used to come and mow my lawn for me.
He loves being surrounded by his grandchildren and couldn’t be happier when they are visiting.
He always invites Mormons and Jehova’s witnesses in and compares bibles with them over a cup of tea.
He knows every neighbour in the street by name and takes their bins in after rubbish night.
He has never intruded in my life even though I know he hasn’t agreed with everything I have ever done.
There’s heaps more but I would like to hear from you and what it is about your dad that makes you smile 
PS. Just in case, I am not looking for sympathy for my dad’s condition here, just the good stuff!
Hi Ange
My dad inspires me - “when I grow up i want to be just like my dad” is somehow very true - i’m not talking about jobs etc - i’m talking about the love and pride he has in me (us) and yes, he just loves it when the kids visit - spoilt rotten they are - they’re very lucky but he’d say he was the lucky one.
He’s a great gardener - grows lots of lovely veggies
Helps anyone in the village they live in
Great with animals and livestock.
Last year when he came out of hospital after a very scary op’ (he was in weeks) I just had to visit every opportunity i could (2&half hour drive each way so that was every weekend for a couple of months) and I insisted on being the one to collect him and drive him home…. just something only i wanted to be trusted with… can you understand that?
P.S hope he’s better soon Ange.
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A vegie grower! My dad’s whole front yard (which you could fit a two bedroom apartment on) is full of vegies and fruit trees. He is always handing over a bag of veggies for me to take home and they do taste so much better than the bought stuff.
Thanks Jonathan.
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
An inspirational wake up call for us all Ange and good on you for sharing this in cyberspace…
Jim here and my Dad Graham:
Barely has grey hair yet, at 63 years old.
Has a very dry sense of humour
Rocks back on his seat singing music at the end of a Sunday dinner and a couple of glasses of wine
Is a steady golfer and a keen Everton fan (soccer / football)
Is a retired biologist / botanist
Is an awesome gardener
Makes the best chips in the world
Wow - this makes me feel 10 years old again - thanx!
Our flower smelling thoughts are with you and remember the winged ones are there looking after your dad at all times! Group hugs from us all….
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Apologies for the errors on my blog… I twittered today and asked for help and I got two cyber angels to fix up my wordpress! Put it out there and wella!! All is good now… that’s what happens when upgrades don’t go as they should.
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
…oops.. I forgot to say that your comment was in spam and now it’s on the post
thanks for your thoughts… we found out today that my dad has to go in for a triple by-pass op on Friday morning and when it’s all over, he will be on the road to recovery and feel a lot better than what he has done in years.
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
I’m really not with it here, lol… feeling 10 yrs old and Emma isn’t home? Oh dear… Jim… are you missing your dad’s chips too? That’s a great list you have there. I like how we can all think of a handful of things our dad’s do that makes us smile
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Cool and the gang Ange - thanks for the reminder!
Dad’s chips on the way when we’re home in July…
CHIP SANDWICH (Homer Simpson drool in the land of chocolate)
erm Jim
Graham is your dad?
how many times do we have to say this until you uncover the truth? Graham is black Jim. You are white. Embrace what you have.
I have never met my dad - I am trying to trace him down but his name leads me nowhere. On my birth certificate it states Father- ’some blokes from 2 para’
Wow, this hit me hard. My favorite uncle died yesterday and I have been rather bummed. I put on a good show, but inside I’m weeping. It was odd how even though it was my uncle who’d passed on, I kept thinking it was my Pops. For example, my sister and I were talking about how I should create the ticket booth for the haunted house on the floorplan. She was telling me that I should make it large enough for Pops’ scooter. For a brief second, I thought “He’s not going to be here” and the words almost passed my lips. I pray I’m not having one of those psychic experiences — my Pops has prostate cancer. Although, he is doing fine, I still worry. My thoughts are with you, angesbiz.
Anyway, here are two things I love about my Pops:
*He’s touchy feely. He must touch a person to really get in touch with them. All it takes is a fingertip on the hand or a brush on someone’s shoulder and he’s connected. He has passed this down to me.
*He gave me a $2 bill once and said, “Now, you can never say you’re broke.” I kept the bill, framed it, wrote his words around it and it is now hanging on my bathroom wall.
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Hi Empress, you can call me Ange. I just read your post about your Uncle and it seems you were very close to him as were you children. I guess it’s never easy losing a loved one so here’s a big hug ((())) for you and what your mum says about remembering all the good times could help you over time. I haven’t ever lost anyone really close to me so I really don’t know how I would react, but certainly being around family who also loved him and sharing the fun things about him I imagine would help.
My dad is in good hands and the procedure is a very common one so mum and I will be at the hospital on Friday morning and will be there when he comes to afterwards. Thanks for sharing and have I missed something about this haunted house? Are you building one for real?
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
hi Empress
you have been ‘rather bummed’ eh? You ‘put on a good show’. But you are in ‘pain’.
Most women I know have too. Don’t worry the pain will go over time. Perhaps try taking something to enable a less painful passage over time.
Things my Dad does that make me smile:
1) When he still asks me if I need my coat when I’m going out.
2) When he assumed that when I was at home for the hols whilst studying electronic eng at Polytechnic, that I still would not know how to change a fuse on a plug that had blown!
3) When he spots swallows and tells me how they never land.
4) When he makes football comments based on his viewpoint - i.e. Beckham scores for England - “See Dad he’s okay!” Dad’s response “Hmm” (In that Hmm he manages to communicate that he thinks Beckham is a girl!)
mike’s last blog post..Mike Interviews: Julian Barnes Part 3 of 3
“When he still asks me if I need my coat when I’m going out.”
That’s his way of saying “I love you” Parents have a funny way of expressing those 3 little words.
cheers
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
awwwww… hope your dad gets well soon … hugs
my dad… he was the one who taught me how to cook… when I was a little girl I watch him as he cooks it was a fun experience and now I’m the one cooking for the family…
I remember on my 10th b-day my dad surprised me when he made me some roast chicken, vegetable salad and a little cake with a big candle on top and sang happy bday to me… that was unforgetable.
They are great memories to have and related to food too! Yum
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Hi Ange I do hope all goes well with your Dad…
Take care ..
I never knew my Dad so I will tell you about my Grandfather…
He was the one who taught me how men shave… I would watch him in the bathroom totally fascinated …
He taught me about the Environment and respect for others people and animals, how to ride a bike, gardening, and how natural has something to teach us if we know where to look.. he showed me how to look…
a wonderful man he past when I was 10 but still hear him today in my ear…
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Hey Aussie, he sounds like a great role model. Teaching you respect for others etc… great value to have
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Mine was a thoughtless, violent, bully who had little time for his inconvenient family and finally left when I was 13.
He decided to leave when we had just begun to re-roof the house so I had to finish off stripping the old roof and putting on the new one (in boiler suit, mask and goggles due to asbestos being present) when in reality I was still only a child - he was that type of guy.
Finally told him never to darken my door again when I was 18 after he threatened to fight me outside a boozer in Liverpool, but forgot that I was a lot bigger by then. He got married, had two kids but still kept bugging my mother and denied the existance of his other family.
Complete gobshite who I am happy not to have seen for 18 years and wouldn’t visit even if he was on his deathbed.
Those of you who revere and respect your father are lucky and should continue to keep the relationship alive and vibrant - as I do with my mother who helped me through my education and the years we struggled getting me through university, a great woman.
Nice one GIC, if you get what I mean.
Hey GIC - sorry mate - that’s gotta be tough! Something I couldn’t ever wish on my worst enemy.
Jonathan
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Gareth, it’s good of you to share this as not everyone does grow up with their father. It sounds as though your father may have had some insecurities and no real direction which is the total opposite of what you appear to be so your mother did a great job of raising you and instilling those values in you (my opinion).
My other half never knew his father and relied on his mates dads for some direction as he was growing up. Thanks for your honesty and it only impresses on me that learning more about my dad will make our relationship much closer.
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
My dad is :-
1) The most intelligent person I know but always says I don’t know when you ask him a question (annoying dad!)
2) Makes a mean pint of beer
3) Is responsible for my appreciation of the broad range of music I listen to and enjoy today
4) Someone I’m looking forward to spending a week on holiday with very soon and gettting to know again.
He was also quite good at handing out cash when I was younger.
Hello RatBag
I am filling up -the car with petrol that is.
9 days to holiday
Don’t forget your purse this time
Cool u 2 - LOL ratbag -
It sounds like you two get on really well and you’re relationship is fun too! Good for you Lib and Bo Snr… enjoy your holiday
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
As some of you know, my father passed away unexpectedly last December:-
http://www.gosmelltheflowers.com/archives/1778
Four months hence it is getting easier for us and we are at the poing of thinking of him and his quarky habits with fondness with less grief and sadness. Some of the things we can now grin at:-
1. Checking all the doors and windows were locked 3 times before going to sleep. Well, it felt like 3 times.
2. Asking me if I had eaten no matter when I spoke to him.
3. Pressing me about whenI will be writing my next book, just a few days after the previous one.
4. Keeping all his paperwork for 50 years in neat files. I am still working my way through this - have found his payslips from over 40 years ago! Generally never wanting to throw ANYTHIING away in case it came in handy one day.
5. Being the worlds keenest and worst DIY “Expert” with a glue called Evostick his remedy for everything. If that didn’t work, then sellotape or brown tape was the next best thing.
6. Blaming my mother anytime anything went wrong!
All these things is what made him who he was and much more. He was the kindest, most compassionat person I ever knew and his sweet memories and books live on (he was a writer too).
As Gareth says above, those of you who revere and respect your father are lucky and should continue to keep the relationship alive and vibrant
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Hi Arvind,
I missed your post back in December and read it just now. I knew you had lost a family member but didn’t realise it was your dad. That would have been tough to swallow at the time to lose him so suddenly and it’s great now that you can smile while remembering him.
His habit with the glue stick reminds me of the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” where the father used windex for everything… that was his answer… lol. Thanks for sharing
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Thanks Angie
When I first watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding a couple of years ago, I just had to laugh aloud as I remembered my father and his Evostick in the same as the father in the movie used Windex!
Yes, things are getting easier now. I am reflecting on the lessons from my father as I wrote in depth on this post in January, my most popular posting yet:-
http://www.arvinddevalia.com/blog/2008/01/05/lessons-in-compassion-from-my-father/
Thanks and all the best - I hope you are enjoying the book
arvind’s last blog post..Time to De-clutter your Life and make Space for more FUN!
Thanks for sharing your post on compassion. It is beautifully written and very inspiring. I understand now the impact your fathers passing had on you and for you to carry on his legacy is very humbling. May you be blessed.
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Ok my story goes like this:
I too like AC never knew my “real” dad but I have the most wonderful step father any one could possibly ask for. Mind you as steps go we have had our fair share of arguments but I have never forgot the look on his face when he got to hold his first ever grandhild. It was magical! There has since been several other grandchildren arrive and he still gives the same look as he did 15 yrs previous. He is one of these DIY guys or more to point needs to work out how things work then can’t understand why things never seem to work properly after he has played with them. He is the one that when something is genuinly broke he can fix it!! I suppose all those years of pulling things apart has done some good!!! He is the one the grandchildren run to if a toy nees to be fixed because “pop” can fix it because he has super glue. And mind you even though I am a couple of thousand klms away I still ring him if I need something to be done!!! Yes I could possibly get my husband to fix it but I’m sure Dad can do better!! LOL!!
So as fathers go I have been blessed with mine and I make sure I always say “I love You” whenever I finish talking to him on the phone.
He sounds like a magical guy Kellie and you are blessed to have him in your life. Treasure him as you do. I shared with my dad last year that I was grateful that he gave me life and I too tell him that I love him… more so now while he is going through this challenge. Thanks!
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
I like many it brings back a few good memories and a few bad ones too.
My Dad was someone I admired a great deal in my youth, he always seemed to try hard at whatever he did and that is something I continue to aspire to.
He was a singer until my mother got cancer when I was 10,. He gave that up despite a promising career.
He left my mother when I was 18 to live with a woman he had been having an affair with for 6 years. He then married her and had two further children.
She managed to bring him down to her low level and, when his drinking resulted in a fit which gave him short term memory loss, she continued to take him to the pub until he started to drink again and had another fit.
He was never good at keeping in touch and we can go a year or more without contact and his wife will never help with that.
In the end he is still my Dad, and I will always remember him as he was in my youth. Vibrant, inspiring, fun, caring, sober.
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Thanks for sharing Phil. Yes, he is still your dad and however you remember him is perfect for you
Buzzing with Ange’s last blog post..Speak Now Before It Is Too Late
Haha nice subject, it brings back nice memories!
My dad is a ’special’ person..! He doesn’t like to show his feelings but you know and feel that he really loves you.
- he is funny!
- he is smart/succesfull and helpfull!
- always thinks he’s right! (not always a positive thing) haha
- always interrested and supportive!
- tough from the outside, but soft from the inside (with me) haha!
And.. he is coming to Dubai is a few days! With my mom ofcourse.. Which is also nice!
[...] wrote a post called Go! Tell Me Something About Your Dad” and expanded on it with Speak Now Before It Is Too [...]
My dad died suddenly in 1998 but his spirit still remains strong with me and he was an amazing man.
- He had a way of making almost anyone feel comfortable and could get along with people who plenty of others couldn’t.
- He would come and fix your car for you even if you were in a different city and there was a snow storm.
- He continued to do people favors and give people deals even when some took advantage of that, were ungrateful or called him a sucker.
- He would always come home from garage sales with a treasure for a family member.
- He made me feel loved by listening and understanding me.
- He could make me feel better by simply saying, “Everything’s going to be alright.” I say it to myself now.
- He spent hours caring for grandkids and adjusted his work schedule so that he could help care for them.
- He painted amazing pictures and played beautiful music for us.
- He taught me how to laugh at myself and pick myself back up and showed me how it’s possible to bounce back from just about anything.
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