Think back... think back to one of your earliest memories of what your dad did for you and then start your list. Some of the best things my did for me were:
- He taught me to ride a bike, Then I went so fast he couldn't run fast enough to keep up with me. I learned to be adventurous.
- He helped me study for tests. He made a game of learning so I became a life long learner (he had wanted to be a teacher.)
- He gave me a love for music. He'd sing at the drop of a hat, and would try his hand at any instrument.
- He gave me lessons in shooting a pistol, a shot gun and a rifle. It was gun safety lessons
a girl never knows when this could save her life or put food on the table.He was always teaching.
- He taught me to throw a lariat, roof a house, paint a house, tackle any house-hold chore, and guided my sister and I in removing and replacing the engine in a 1968 Ford Mustang. I hope I don't have to do anything to a Mustang again but if I do I know I won't be afraid to try. This was a lesson in helping others.
- He gave me a love for home and country. Dad was a WWII disabled Vet. He taught me patriotism..
- He taught me to fish and a love for camping. I learned to love nature and all it had to offer and how to take care if it so I can continue to enjoy what I love.
- He taught me what it meant to be friendly and be a good neighbor. He never met a stranger.
- He show me how to have a good work ethic. Work hard, but not too hard... take a vacation now and then. We would go on 6 week vacations when I was a kid.
- He gave us a wonderful home and taught us how to take care of it. We started early with a huge playhouse in the back yard. We grew up in the first and only house my parents ever bought.
- He showed me how to work hard and be wise with my paycheck. We didn't live 'high on the hog' but we never wanted for anything. If we didn't have the cash to pay for it, we didn't need it right then.
- He showed me how to deal with what life gives you when you are sick and not to be afraid to stand up to an illness. The power of one's mind can make them well again.
- He gave me a brother and a sister, and taught me how to get along with them.
- But the best thing he gave me, rather us.... he was married to our mother for almost 50 years. He showed me how to be a good spouse and parent.
Thank you Daddy. Robert A. "Freckles" Nelson 1918-1993
