Thanks, Dad!

I have great parents. I have said that so many times. We were fortunate to have my DOD (Dear Old Dad) come to visit us this last week from Monday to Friday. I know this was a great sacrifice for him. He works in retail and it is not easy to get time away from work this season. My DOD loves to work with his hands and help those he loves. He has always been so giving. Knowing this, I prepared a small list of things he could help me with while he was visiting. No surprise to me, he had the list done in record time and was happy to help. Thanks, Dad. I wish I were more handy like you.

My DOD has always been so good with kids. He is childlike in his nature and I believe that children naturally and whole-heartedly trust him. He was so good with Leah. Leah loves him. She automatically smiled for him the entire time he was visiting. She doesn't even smile for me that often! He was actually quite bummed to have the rest of the family arrive on Thanksgiving as he felt his time with Leah had come to an end or at least would be shared with others. He truly loves my little girl and she loves him. Thanks, Dad.

My Dad had a tough life. In spite of it all, he has been such a great Father to my brothers and me and a loving husband to my Mother until recently. He is such a hard worker and has passed that work ethic along to me, Jim and Scott. He joined the church at a later time, but always supported our involvement and went to sacrament meeting every Sunday. My Dad perfected the art of sleeping without the annoying head bob that told everyone behind him he was asleep. He was heavily involved in the scouting program as a Webelo leader and many of the boys he worked with still thank him when they get the chance.
He is extremely proud of his American Indian heritage and displays his pride for all to see in his actions, words and lifestyle. He has never worried what people think. He is his own person and is not embarrassed to be such. He has always been so selfless; always placing his family's happiness before his own. He was sealed to my Mother and then to me and my brothers in 1987 when I was seventeen years old. He has embraced the gospel of Jesus since that day.

Everyone who knows my Dad loves him. He is so funny and has often been the cause for uncontrollable laughter around the dinner table or while playing games as a family. Adding to this is the fact that he is almost entirely deaf. In his efforts to not let this slow him down, he adds comments to conversations that do not fit. This often results in these hilarious uproars of laughter at his expense. In any conversation with my Dad, there is almost definitely two conversations...the one you are having with him and the one he is having with you! I love how he sings everything in the style of Johnny Mathis.
My DOD is going through an interesting period of life right now. I worry for him. I love him. I hope he finds what it is that will bring him eternal joy. He has been such a good father and Christ like example to me. I hope he never loses sight of those traits. They are the greatest traits a man could ever possess.