Where to start, where to start...if any of you know my dad,you know that there are layers there. So sit back and relax as we peel back the layers that make my dad the man who can easily scare any young men and then turn around and coo at babies...ok, he doesn't coo...but kids love him.
So the initial layer-the visible layer....scary I know, haha jk. So while growing up my dad had quite the reputation for sternness. I think it's a combination of things. He is a go-getter. He likes to take charge and get the job done and can be incredibly focused-skills he has acquired over the years by providing for us I'm sure. Also, he isn't the type of person to wear every emotion on his sleeve. Don't get me wrong, the better you know him you can read his expressions-they're just more subtle than other peoples'. It's like....ya know how there are some people who are very animated, will laugh at things that aren't funny? well...dad will give an appreciative smile but he's sincere. He's not going to act a certain way if he's not feeling it.
While growing up I prolly felt that dad was too strict/had too many rules etc...but looking back I see that everytime he gave me the choice while still letting me know how he felt about it, and I did what I wanted-it ALWAYS backfired. It was actually pretty annoying (ya know how kids hate it when their parents are right.)
Some things that you may not have realized about him:
-he's an AVID BYU sports fan. ok...so this is an obvious one. (football, basketball, volleyball being the 3 biggies, but also watches rugby and enjoys challenging members of the racquetball team to play when he's in town).
-he is athletic having played golf earlier in his life and now has moved on to racquetball going 3 times a week and playing all guys way younger than him and beating them for the most part.
-he is a lover of musicals. Every sunday since I can remember was game night (which brings me to my next point: he loves card games) we would play games and listen to musicals. I grew up on: Les Meserables, Pirates of Penzance, Guys and Dolls, 1776, and others.
-He will at times walk through the house and sing along quite loudly and sill..ily? to the songs
- he is a lil OCD-and REALLY likes cleanliness. Once my parents were out of town for a few weeks one summer and I had some friends over for 4th of July and as they were leaving I mentioned how I had to start cleaning up and they all stood and stared at me in shock. "but...your house is so clean!" yeah...I cleaned for a few hours and then dad got home, looked around and said..."Whitney, will you sweep the kitchen-it's a wreck" 8)
-on that same note he is a germaphobe-won't touch hand rails in public, use public restrooms, and doesn't exactly love shaking hands. (he's kind of like Monk...only not so bad as that)
- My dad has that dad ability to just know where he is or where to go or how to get somewhere. I don't know what it is...maybe it's a guy thing, but honestly if we are on a roadtrip dad just magically knows/has a sense of where to go-even if he's never been there before, and he's not checking the map every ten minutes and just has the confidence that everything will work out...which..is prolly why it does.
- my dad was always very supportive/protective of mom. I remember once one of my brothers said something or was disrespectful in some way and let's just say we learned really quick that that would not be tolerated.
-he was always an example to me of quietly doing what was expected of you in regards to church. He isn't one to toot his own horn and frankly he doesn't like being overly praised, but will always fulfill his callings and I was really impressed by that. I know he doesn't love small-talking with people, whenever a meeting is out we are out the door-we don't mingle, but as a bishop he would smile and talk with everyone around him. That taught me that it doesn' matter if you feel shy or socially unmotivated, that's no excuse.
I could go on and on but mainly I'm just greatful for a dad that lived all of the convictions that he believed in and was a great example to me and my brothers. Sure he has his quirks and that's what I love most about him. I always know I can go to him with any problems and that he will help me/it will all work out.
Happy Father's Day dad! I love you.
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Oh ...one thing you didn't mention was how he loved to play basketball and lettered with his high school team. He also played intramural and church basketball, and even some church softball though for some reason he hated that sport! He was actually pretty good at both but way, way too intense in basketball. Let's just say there's a reason why the church no longer ecourages men's basket ball in the wards!!!
ReplyDeleteAnother reason he loves musicals is because he grew up listening to them just like you did. Grandpa still walks around singing his fun and wacky songs too. Your dad was also the star of some pretty amazing Road shows in Chatsworth and a musical song and dance group at BYU. In his day it wasn't your average Road Show like it was in my stake. Oh no ...quite the opposite. He was after all in Los Angeles so they did everything "Hollywood style" ...in the Rose Bowl no less!!! The people who wrote, produced and choreographed their shows actually worked in the "biz" as they say so the competition was intense. In spite of that the Chatsworth ward pretty much swept all of the awards every year. Yep ...he's always been our shinning star!