Focus on our Father's....

Today I want to salute all the father’s and tell them what a difference they can make in their children’s lives.

It seems like yesterday, living in Duluth, Minnesota on Nashua Street. My dad, Nick, would work his regular 8-hour job and then someone would need some welding or a car repaired so he spent many hours in our garage helping other people. What did this teach me? If you want something…. work for it. Also, if you want to provide for your family – do it!

As one of his three daughters growing up, I never realized how hard he worked. The home he and mom first bought did not have a basement or an indoor bathroom. I do remember he jacked up the house and started digging with a shovel and after hard work we did have our basement and a bathroom on the main floor that was large enough to hold the whole family in! Then a few years down the road they decided to build another home on Nashua Street. He was the contractor and hired the sub contractors. Dad was a visionary; we had the most beautiful view of Lake Superior. I know I took that for granted because when Curly and I bought our first home there was no lake view in our backyard.

With my dad being a wizard on cars he was always fixing one for us to use. I remember our Maroon and Gold Day in high school. We had decorated my 55 chevy at my friend’s house and when we went out in the morning it would not start. I called dad and he came and changed the solenoid and off we were to celebrate the great “Denfeld-Central” football game.

I count my lucky stars that I had both a father and a mother growing up. I think this is a necessity when you are a teenager. If one is upset with you the other will be your refuge. Looking back dad expected us to work so we would understand what things cost and how you could obtain them.

As I grew into a young adult and married, I wanted a great father for my children. That I got! Curly held the bar extremely high for them but both girls have done well, and yes, we are proud of them and their families. Curly was the father that did not threaten, if he told you that you could not go someplace, he meant it and there would be consequences if you thought otherwise. Likewise, he was the calm one that would figure it out if there was something out of sync with the girls.

Curly’s strong Christian belief has been past on to our daughters, and he keeps them in his prayers daily. Church was not an option; it was a way of life. On Sundays after breakfast, we went to church. Curly singing in the choir and I would be busy with the Sunday School and our daughters grew up in the church because their dad helped make it that way.

There is one more special person on this Father’s Day, my father-in-law, Roy. He started out as my 2nd grade Sunday School teacher, and I am sure he never dreamed that I would become his daughter-in-law. Roy and I got along great. I learned a lot from him, later watching him take care of Curly’s mother after her stroke. He taught us how to Move Forward with Disabilities in Retirement. Roy was also the Scoutmaster for many years in West Duluth, teaching life lessons to many who joined the troop.

These men have been an important part of my life but most of all Curly, my dad, Nick and father-in-law, Roy are fond memories in our daughters lives of men that have shaped them. They both have wonderful husbands that are now shaping our grandchildren’s lives.

Happy Father’s Day

to all the dads out there. Remember, for your children to move forward, what an important role you play in your child’s life.