Daddie Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and future dads out there! I truly mean "dads," because a dad is different than a father. I was blessed with a great dad. These days I'm blessed with little memories of him that pop up at random times.

For instance, I love playing a particular song on the piano because I remember a time when Dad came in the music room and sat on the bench next to me while I played it. He complimented me on my playing and laughed at some of the comments written on the page (it was a Jon Schmidt song). I love memories of vacations and thinking about how Dad loved to plan great vacations for the family. I love thinking about the day-to-day things that Dad would do. When he'd come home from work and say "High - DEE!" or "How - DEE!" I would get so excited. When he'd finish his dinner faster than the rest of us, turn at an angle in his chair and drape his arm over the back corner of the chair, and drink a bunch of water while he talked to us and waited for the rest of us to finish, I would tease him about his stance. When he'd scrape the edges of casserole dishes and put the whole huge serving spoon in his mouth to get every last crumb, I'd be amazed at the size of his mouth. When he'd wake us up for breakfast those few years when Mom was a seminary teacher, I'd get so upset at the fact that he'd flip on the blinding bedroom light. When he'd cook a huge pan of Eggo waffles I would be so excited to eat one of my favorite meals for breakfast. I'd always laugh at his consistency when he'd run over to the kitchen sink and do the hand dishes as his contribution to the family dish cleaning before the rest of us could. When he'd come home from work or church and take off his tie right away unless he had another meeting later, I would be grateful for the fact that girls don't usually have to wear ties. When we'd get Father's Blessings before each new school year, I'd be so happy that I had a dad who was a worthy Priesthood holder. When Dad would teach me about money or the stock market, I knew I was blessed with a very smart man for my dad.

These are the types of things that I enjoy remembering about my Poppie. This picture is from a few years ago and is of my niece at his grave.
I'm so glad I know that it is only Dad's physical body resting here, and that I know that his spirit is busy doing Heavenly Father's work on the other side of the veil. (If you are unfamiliar with my beliefs, check out this website to see a basic description of the plan that shows how I know that these things are true!)

President Gordon B. Hinckley also remembered lessons he learned as a boy. I love this video that I was shown in my class a few weeks ago:

What a great blessing it is to have great dads in life!