Today is my Dad's 80th birthday...a birthday I don't think he ever expected to live to see. I'm hoping for many more birthdays, but I am also thankful that he has beaten the odds to make it to the ripe old age of 80. He is the last male of his line and he has lived longer than any other male in his family (that he can remember). Dad has had a lot of hurdles to overcome and has surprised a lot of people with his ability to face adversity and keep on going. He was born during a time in our history when families had to really work just to survive. It was a time before all of the "modern" conveniences of life that we take for granted today. Dad lived on a farm and from a young age, his "job" was to take care of the chickens and the chicken coop. As he grew older, his chore list grew longer and he had to watch his two younger sisters...one 10 years younger and one 15 years younger. His mother taught school and his father worked "the pipeline" in addition to having a farm.
In his early 20s, he met and married Mom and started a family. He worked hard and money was tight but he never complained about the long hours. Dad was a Heavy Equipment Operator...he could run just about any big machine they had on a job. Even though he probably wouldn't admit it, Dad is pretty darn smart. It takes a lot of skill and intelligence to run those machines and Dad was very good at his job. He knew just how far to push a machine without damaging it or endangering himself and the other workers.
Dad was young when his dad died unexpectedly in his 50s from a massive heart attack. Dad became responsible for his own family and for helping his mother raise his sisters. He moved his own little family to the family land and worked not only at his regular job, but also ran the mobile home park that took the place of the family farm. He was "on call" 24/7 for maintenance, he plowed the roads, he parked the trailers and hooked them up to water, sewer, and electric, and he did it all without being paid for it. He was a Deputy Sheriff for Geauga County, Ohio just "for the fun" of it. He lived his life as if he were going to die young like his dad...he never expected to live a long life.
In the late 1970s, Dad started having abdominal pain and spent a month in the local hospital. After many tests, a tumor was finally found attached to the outside of his stomach. After surgery was performed to remove not only the tumor but Dad's stomach, the surgeon told Mom that the cancer was malignant and that Dad would probably only have a few months to live. Mom asked that no one tell Dad because she didn't want him to give up. I still remember how scary it was to see Dad in that hospital bed after his surgery. I knew he would be okay, though, when he scolded his mother for shaking the bed. It wasn't her fault, she was scared, but it still makes me smile. Since he didn't know he was supposed to die, Dad lived and lived well. Once he recovered, he did things that he never dreamed he would do in his life. He travelled to both Columbia and Costa Rica as a chaperone for the college biology students of a family friend. He started his own businesses and he and Mom took trips around the country...some were driving just to drive and some were flying to other states.
The older I get, the more I realize how much I am like my father and because of that, we often butt heads. My mother and my sister took a passive route in life. My father and I are more aggressive toward life. We say what we think even if it's not popular. We prefer to be alone rather than suffer the presence of fools. We are stubborn and if someone tells us it's impossible, we will try anyway. We are slow to trust but once we trust, we are loyal to the end. We are conservative and we take time to think before we take action. Life hasn't always been smooth between us, but we have learned to appreciate each other since we only have each other left of our little family. He has lived through the loss of his wife and two of his children...something that would paralyze most people. He takes an active interest in the lives of his two grandchildren and "granddog". He enjoys the company of his beloved cat, who has saved his sanity if not his life in these past few years...so here's a shout-out to Streaker...thanks for keeping Dad on his toes!
So, Happy Birthday, Dad...you have been important in the lives of many people whether you know it or not. You have changed lives and helped to create them. Thank you for spending time sharing stories with Patrick and Liz...you will never know how much happiness that brings them. Thank you for your generosity and your love... Thank you for being an example of an honest work ethic...something that people today would do well to emulate. And thank you for giving me your stubbornness...I'm proud to be a fighter like you.....
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