Oh, How the Years Go By

Then:
It's amazing how many of my brothers I see in this photo.

Now:

Today is my father's birthday. Although he hasn't aged since I was a child, it is still hard to believe that this handsome old guy is now 73. Wow. 73. Hope I still look young at that age. Yea, he has the grey hair and the pot belly, but he's always had that. He was 42 when I was born, so I don't remember his hair being any other color.


This was taken when I was a young toddler. By the time my memories start to kick in, he'd lost what was left of his brown hair and turned silver. Every year, I would ask him how old he was. "39 and holding." He never seemed to go 'over the hill' until I was an adult.

Oh, the fun I've had with my dad. He's always had a sense of humor with me and was comfortable to be around. I used to sneak into his home office when he was at work and I'd get into his corn nuts and chocolate. We never had snacks downstairs. I'd attempt to drink the Coke, but it was always flat. One day I saw him open a fresh bottle, pour a little into his big Git-n-Go cup that he always used, and then he proceeded to shake the bottle, open the cap to let the pressure out, and do it again. This went on several times. I finally asked him what he was doing. "Pop gives me gas," he said. "Oh." I just left it at that and walked away. He was always a little weird to me.

When I was a teenager, I used to ask to borrow money from him so I could go out with my friends. He'd give me ten or twenty, reluctantly, and I'd smile and leave. Once I asked to borrow money again. He took out a piece of paper from his desk, tallied up the total, and asked me if I really wanted to borrow this. "Of course," I said. "Well then," he proceeded, "when do you plan to pay this back?" I stopped for a moment to think. I didn't realize I actually had to pay it back. I was a little shocked at this question, which he quickly picked up on. He then went on to explain that if I didn't intend to pay it back, then I should ask if I could 'have' ten dollars instead of 'borrow' ten dollars. If I asked to borrow it, then he wrote it down, expecting that it would be paid back. I then said, "I don't have the money to pay all of that back, so could I just have some money tonight?" He smiled and handed over ten dollars. I liked this arrangement much better. He decided to relinquish my debt and tossed the paper in the trash. His point had been made, and this little lesson taught me that he was actually a pretty cool guy.

He's still pretty cool and I'm glad to have such a close relationship with him. He's the one I call when I get mad at my husband. He's the one I call when I'm upset with somebody in the family or stressed out or frustrated. I never did this before. I always talked to my mother instead. But after she passed away, I realized what how important my relationship was with my father. He has surprised me many times, and although he hasn't gone to church in almost 15 years, he still conveys to me upon occasion of how important those gospel principles are. I love him and am glad to have him in my life, even if he is getting up there in age. I am comforted by him and his intellectual, fatherly advise. Happy birthday, old man.