There I was, standing in the kitchen reading the
Picture 1 inch long, skinny with FIVE THOUSAND legs crawling across the floor. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Chuck and I shall discuss exterminators when he awakes.
This cannot happen again.
Luckily, for him, I have jungle-cat reflexes and an (almost) inaudible squeal.
Almost, like not at all.
Happy Father's day to all the dads, step dads, grandads, and...other dads out there!
I hope you have a wonderful day:).
I know I don't spend a lot of time, if any, talking about my dad here.
When I do it's normally because I am frustrated with him, or because he has instructed me to do something so ridiculous that I just have to tell you people.
You want me to carry 25 lb buckets of blackstrap molasses through the barn, 3 times a day, and pour it on top of the cows feed????? Really???
Well, OK then.
Welcome to my world.
I think the reason I don't talk about BossMan much is because we have never really had a great relationship, and over the past few years it has become more strained.
Maybe it's me, his age, the fact that I work for him, or just the way the cookie crumbles, whatever the reason it is simply what it is.
He is hard to get close to.
When I was growing up, Malinda and I were totally mom's girls.
We went everywhere with her.
Dad was normally having to work late at the hospital, or doing some other type of work so he missed out on a bunch of happy times, therefore we didn't have much of a friendly relationship with him.
He has always been the hardest working man I have ever known, or heard of for that matter...and for that he is to be commended.
We grew up comfortably and never wanted for anything, other than maybe not so much yard work:).
He taught us to work hard for what we wanted and was not going to be the kind of parent who spoiled his kids...I think he was successful.
When everyone else was going places and doing things with their dads, we were out working and he was on the tractor.
He always believed we could work harder or do more and pushed us toward that goal.
Hence the person I am today.
The down side to that being when your best isn't good enough, even for you.
Such is life.
It wasn't all work though.
We grew up fortunate enough to have had a great education as well as having been able to vacation to wonderful places.
Oh man, the places we went!
Inside me live memories of sailboat trips around the Caribbean where we had bonfires on remote beaches, climbed coconut trees, hiked mountains for "treasure" and occasionally got seasick.
BossMan lived for vacation, especially the beach.
No one could say he didn't work hard for it either.
Now that almost all of his 9 kids are grown, with 2 still under the age of 21, you would think he has finally slowed down. You would be mistaken.
BossMan turns 76 today and is still practicing orthopedic surgery.
He works in the office/hospital 5 days a week, making rounds on Sunday, but comes home each evening and gets on the tractor.
He is quite a worker.
He does what needs to be done and doesn't let anyone stand in his way.
That's my dad.
To say he was a "hard man" to live with would be an understatement, and to say he was always hard would be unfair.
I can remember him riding us around the sunroom on his back playing "horsey", and being at all of our dance recitals.
and he has always been there when I have really needed him.
When I felt alone and thought all hope was lost he sat beside me on the front porch and said, "I love you, and I'm going to take care of you for as long as I can".
I can remember that day as clearly as I can remember my wedding day when he gave his toast and said that, "...she needs me as much as I need her".
No matter how strained our relationship becomes, and how tense it can feel, I remember those times because when you love someone it's not supposed to be easy.
Happy Birthday and Father's Day, BossMan.
Love,
YourCowGirl
Beautiful and honest tribute, sweetheart.
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