If you ask my friends, I'm sure they'd tell you that over the past four years, I tended to throw a pity party around this time. The whole month of January would always be depressing, but the week leading up to January 26th was always so heavy and full of tears. My dad was my whole world, and obviously I think of him daily, but something about remembering his sudden departure tore me up. I say all this because this is the first year that the heaviness has not been present. I still miss him, but life goes on. I can't get caught in the past; there is still so much life to be lived. I'm so grateful for God's grace and patience in this. Today has been refreshing simply in the fact that it feels like an ordinary day.
It's really hard to believe that five years have already past! I am SO incredibly thankful for the 20 years I got to spend with my dad, so I thought today I'd make a list of the five biggest memories/parts of life that were shaped and impacted by him. I went way, way back into the scrapbooks, so this should be fun :)
1. Family
Obviously my best memories are time spent together as a family. I was always a daddy's girl, and as far back as I can remember, my dad's nickname for me was Meathead. I have no idea where it came from or why he chose that, but I definitely answered to it! My dad was definitely the leader in the house, the peacemaker, and definitely the jokester. I've developed more of a sense of humor over the past few years, definitely a very dry one, and I think a lot of my "material" comes form him. He always had a smile on his face, and I loved spending as much time as possible with him. To ensure that we were together, a lot of his favorite pastimes became mine. These ranged from watching golf or other sporting events on Sunday afternoons to a mutual love of Star Wars. Ha, our tastes were pretty diverse.
Family of three:
Family of four :)
A little snow day fun
A few years later...
Sadly, Justin got the tall gene instead of me:
Had to throw in the prom picture - he was so excited for me that day
My dad always wanted to go on a cruise, so one summer we finally went on one! It was a short cruise, with only one stop in Cozumel, but we had a blast. Our favorite activity was to go to Trivia every day. He was much better at it than me, and he actually walked away with two trophies during the course of the cruise! Haha, he lovingly gave one to me :)
2. Sports
From an early age, both my brother and I played sports. I played t-ball and basketball as early as I could. Justin played basketball and baseball for several years. My dad coached both of us for many years, mostly in basketball. He came to every practice and game when he wasn't coaching, even though he worked in Mineral Wells and had to leave early to make it in time. When I started playing on select teams, we'd drive all over the state for tournaments. He practiced with us in the yard, or even took me up to the softball field during off season to play catch and practice hitting. He even tried to teach me to play golf on several occasions. I remember that we went up to Weatherford College as a family to play tennis, and I kept hitting the ball out of the facility. That was the last time I played tennis :). He was so patient in teaching us, and he was always positive no matter how many times we struck out, missed free throws, or had a bad game. In junior high, I expanded to volleyball and did track and field for one year (shot and discus, randomly enough), but in high school I finally settled on playing softball only. Having him at every game was huge, and I am so thankful for his support and guidance. One aside about my dad - he was really, really good at dealing with my tears. I was probably the most emotional softball player ever. I cried ALL the time, over the dumbest things. He was always there to settle me down and handle my emotions. My dad was one of those guys who remembered every game, opponent, and at-bat - definitely more than I could recall. He always had suggestions on ways to improve. and I know he loved watching both Justin and I play growing up. I'm so grateful that he was always supportive and encouraging; hopefully one day I can pass this love of sports down to my own kids (or nieces and nephews).
Weatherford softball team (6th grade I think - he helped coach this one):
7th Grade basketball tourney - I'm not sure how we ended up with a family picture after we won, with the coach no less...
Senior night for WHS softball:
3. Work
I don't have any pictures for this section, but it is still worthy of mention! My dad spent his whole career working at PECO in Mineral Wells. He was a CPA and held a few different positions during his 25+ years there. When I reached high school and my parents started mentioning my getting a summer job, applying to PECO just made sense. I never saw myself working anywhere other than an office. I ended up working five summers at PECO, starting when I was 16. I even worked a couple winter breaks to help out. I did everything from help the executives and their assistant with various tasks, to working as an Accounts Payable clerk answering calls from vendors. Because I worked in accounting, I was around my dad most of every day. I even put together spreadsheets or did special projects for him on occasion. The highlight of my time working at PECO was the time spent with him. Most days, it made sense to ride together, and the commute was about half an hour each way. Plus, even if we brought our lunch, we'd almost always eat together and then take a drive around Mineral Wells. My dad grew up there, so he would take me down memory lane and show me various highlights. Sometimes, we'd even just go to Wal-Mart and walk around to take a break and kill time. These moments spent together were so precious, and I'm grateful for each and every one.
Since I followed in his footsteps and became a CPA myself, it's become clear that he instilled his work ethic in me. I think my approach to work was very much driven by his example. I'm so blessed that my dad was a hard worker who provided for his family, but still found a way to spend quality time with us and be balanced. That balance is obviously something I can still learn from. I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to work with my dad - I know not everyone has that chance!
4. UT/Baylor/College Football
Yes, college football gets a whole post to itself. From the earliest age, I remember watching college football with my dad. I think I went to my first UT game at the age of 4. It's hard to explain my family's obsession with UT football - nobody in the family attended the school - but we're definitely more than bandwagon fans. I think we started getting season tickets around the time I was in junior high, but we attended a game almost every season before that. I have vivid memories of UT/A&M games, Red River Rivalry games, and many more. My dad also loved watching old school games like UT/Arkansas when we had ESPN classic. I definitely knew the rules and lingo inside out, and I could carry on a conversation about football with just about anyone. This has definitely come in handy now that I work for a UT alum who is a huge sports guy :). The reason this makes the list is because it was something that really bonded us. My dad would send me links to the UT message boards about recruits, links about the stadium renovation process, and a million other things. We also did college pick 'em together one year with some of his co-workers (I won by the way :), so I had an awareness of the national scene. We loved March Madness too, but there was something about college football season that just excited us!
I didn't recall the existence of this pic until I was going through the scrapbooks. This is from the Big 12 Championship game at Texas Stadium when UT was upset by Colorado. I don't think I knew Baylor existed at this point, haha :). I'm thinking about showing this to my boss if I find myself in a sticky situation sometime.
When I decided I wanted to go to Baylor sophomore year of high school (no joke), my dad started taking me to Waco for football games. Since Baylor was so bad at that time, tickets were cheap and we could always get good seats. It also gave me an excuse to go down and see campus. Once I was in school, he would drive down frequently for games (though I think it was an excuse to see me/check up on me - I didn't mind in the least!) He was very faithful about wearing his Baylor shirt, and I think he really was becoming a fan - he'd started sending me stuff about Baylor recruiting and coaching news.
BUT, if we were playing UT, it was burnt orange all the way. This was at our last UT/Baylor game together, in Austin. The best part of the game was when it was tied 14-14 and all the UT fans were yelling at the coaches. I was the only one cheering in our section when we scored. Of course, we got steamrolled by the end, but it was fun nonetheless.
Oh the memories!
5. Servant
My dad had the biggest servant's heart. It's funny because he used to say that about me, but I was really just following his example. He coached our teams, volunteered for the Optimist Club, was a deacon at church, taught Sunday School, refereed and umpired, and the list goes on and on. Some of my fondest memories are when we worked the concession stand together during Optimist Club pee wee football games, or sold peach cobbler for the Optimist Club at the peach festival. He and my mom were my Sunday School teachers for several years in elementary school. Because of him, I'll always be able to name the disciples (52 Mab Street) and be able to recite the books of the bible (I used to be able to say them backwards). I also remember tidbits like his favorite disciple was Andrew because he was always bringing someone to Christ.
I'll be eternally grateful to my parents for leading me to Christ. I remember my dad pulling out his deacon bible when I started asking questions. I'm so thankful for the strong faith they instilled in me. It's that faith that has helped me realize that God is my everything, and losing my dad did not mean that life was over. I pray that I always humble myself like my dad did, and put others first at all times. In Mark 9:35, Jesus said "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." I feel that my dad always put others before him. Hopefully I can follow that same mindset!
The church asked my dad to give his testimony one Sunday after he had been fighting cancer for a year or so. During his testimony, he shared that his "life verse" so to speak was Psalm 150:6 - "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" He truly lived his life with joy, even when he was sick. He was optimistic and positive, and such an inspiration. Today, I celebrate the 20 amazing years I spent him, and I hope to remember these values and lessons for the next 75 :)
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