Dear Dad

When I was a child I used to love spending time with my father. It didn’t really matter what we did as long as we were doing it together. My father worked hard all of his life to provide for our family. I watched as he would get up at 1:00 a.m. every morning to be at work by 3:00 a.m. He would work a full day then come home in the afternoon and try to spend a little time with my sister and me before dinner.

My dad didn’t have a cushy office job like many of my friend’s dads. No, he worked in the freight industry driving tractor trailer trucks and lifting freight all day long. He was always in very good shape from all the walking and lifting he had to do. No need to go to a gym. He got his workout in by working every day. What a concept. I have seen him out work guys half his age including me. He had great physical strength. When I turned 15 he put me to work. He would back a trailer up to a dock and my job was to unload and stack all the freight onto the dock. He would always jump in and get me started then he had to leave and do other things while I finished unloading. In the summer the heat in the back of that trailer was miserable. In the winter it was freezing. The work was hard. Bending and lifting all day long. Even as a young man it was physically challenging.

From an early age my father taught me about strong work ethic. He used the time he had in the back of that trailer to talk to me about hard work and life. He taught me that there is honor and pride in a hard day’s work. At the end of the day you should be able to go home and feel like you had accomplished something. He never focused on the amount you were paid for your work but just on the work itself. He taught me things like “always do your best”, and “finish what you start”. He taught me that God blesses those who work hard to make an honest living. Lessons that have stuck with me all my life. Lessons, I hope I pass on to my own children.

My dad, now in his early seventies, has slowed down dramatically. All that hard work has taken its toll on his physical body. The man I knew growing up, strong as an ox, is now weakened. It is hard to watch this transition. Long gone are the days he and I used to spend working together. But I will forever hold onto the memories of those hot summer days and the cold winter ones too, spent working side-by-side with my dad. I will hold onto the values and lessons he tried to teach me.

I love you Dad!