What Do You Appreciate About Your Father?

Another idea to help you write your story:
What do you appreciate about your father?
 I've been asked to give a talk on Father's Day about fathers.  I have been thinking about my father and the things I appreciated about him.  My father was not a perfect man, but he was a very good man.  He taught me to work and to think about others.  He set an example by working hard himself.  He was very considerate of my mother and helped her.  My parents were joint partners in a family business.  When my mother died, my dad felt he couldn't continue the business because she did so much for the business.  Even though my brother and I tried to step in and do many of the things our mother had done, Dad still felt overwhelmed without our mother there.

I am often amazed at what my Dad did in his life.  He didn't go on to high school after finishing eighth grade.  I think he felt he needed to help his sister and her husband on their farm because they had given him a place to stay.  The high school was fifteen miles away and during the depression, it would have been difficult for Dad to have traveled back and forth or he would have had to board close to the high school.  Dad wished he could have gone on for more education, but he accomplished a lot even without further formal education.  Dad built the home I grew up in.  It started out as a four-room house.  Dad added six more rooms on to the home.  He did the plumbing and the electrical himself.  He built a cistern to store water for our use in.  He built chicken coops, corrals, and a grainery.  He fixed his own cars, trucks, and tractors.  He was a successful farmer and a businessman.
Most of all my dad was a friendly person.  People called him "Smiley" because he always wore a smile.
When you think of your father, what do you remember most?  Write down your memories and what you appreciate about your dad.  You can keep adding to it and soon you will have your family's life story written down.  Your dad is an important part of your story.

Father's Day Gifts
by Family Story Keeper