sentiments about my dad

he didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
- clarence budington kelland

my father is a soft-spoken man - at least most of the time.
he isn't one to yell or raise his voice often. it's just not his way.
if and when it happened growing up, we knew we had gone too far.

for the most part, he just sat back and observed.
he was logical and was the voice of reason in debates,
and as a father to five girls who could be extremely emotional at times,
he was the calm in the storm.

when we did screw up, more often than not,
i would end up on the edge of his bed as he tried to have a heart to heart talk with me.
i wasn't always receptive, but he never failed to take the time to explain why he was upset
or disappointed, and why i was there.

sometimes our talks were short, but often they were long. at least they seemed that way.
i remember there were days when i thought, "just spank me and be done with it". *laugh*.
as i got older privledges were taken away - the phone was the first to go
(so tragic for a teenage girl).

i'm sure alot of what he said went in one ear and out the other, but not all of it.
i have learned many life lessons from him and so much of the good in me comes from my dad.
for this i am appreciative. i admired him then and i admire him now.
i realize now i even tried to marry a man who shared some of his character traits.

my dad is one of those parents who leads by example.
i can't think of a more powerful way to teach children than by letting them watch and observe.
words mean so little in comparison to having someone lead the way.
thanks dad for being a father who i respect and want to follow.

when i can find a pix of my dad and i together, i will post here.
in the meantime, here is a photo of the boys on father's day wearing their cute
handsome like daddy pjs.

i also included an short interview i did with finn about his daddy.

happy father's day to the terrific men in my life!

finn's interview, 5 years old

1. how would you describe dad? he’s an architect and his eyes are blue
2  what makes dad happy? when he’s building
3  what makes dad sad? when he doesn’t get to play with me
4. what is something dad always says to you? i love you
5. what makes dad laugh? me
6. what is dad’s favorite thing to do? playing with me and scout
7. if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for? for building cool legos
8. what is dad really good at? building
9. what is dad not so good at? cleaning

10. how do you know dad loves you? he tells me, sometimes by talking and sometimes by sign language (he showed me 'i love you' in sign language - pointing to himself, crossing his arms and
then pointing at me).

that sure was fun and finn's response to question #9 makes me chuckle!