It’s My Honor…

and the least I could do. 

My Daddy looked at me the other day, after a long day at the VA, with tears in his eyes he told me to call my brother Larry in Austin to come pick him up & take him to his house.  I was shocked.  I thought he liked staying in his own home and familiar surroundings.  I said “why Daddy?”…now I was starting to tear up myself.   And he said in a low and humble voice..”I am too hard to take care of and too much responsibility for you.  I am taking to much of your time away from from children and you are always having to take me somewhere.”  My heart broke.

Now my tears were flowing.  In a broken voice I said “Daddy – I am honored to take care of you and it is the least I could do.”  My Daddy left his home and family in West Virginia, moved to Texas to work in the oilfield, he lived in a horse barn for several weeks in order to save up enough money to send back to WV so my Mother and brothers could join him.  Then he continued to work everyday in the cold and extremely hot oilfields to provide for his family.  He ate countless cold sandwiches for lunch so we could have a hot lunch.  He NEVER took a sick day.  Even with double pneumonia he still worked.  He would only take two weeks out of the year to drive us back to West Virginia for vacation.  The only day he would have off was an occasionally Saturday afternoon and Sundays but he would have to work in the yard or on the house.  Now…how could I not do everything in my power to give back to him what he gave to me?

I miss my Mom and I mean no disrespect to her  but the time I am getting with my Daddy is priceless.  Not a day goes by that we don’t say “I love you” to each other more than once. I have learned more about my Daddy in the past four months and our relationship has flourished.  It cracks me up to find out that he liked to knit, or every Halloween he would get with his friends and they would overturn all the outhouse in their area only to help put them back up the next day.  His Grandmother Minnie didn’t cook so his Grandfather did and they ran a boarding house and that’s how my Grandparents met.   Many stories that money can’t buy.  Not to mention how happy it makes my little hares having him around everyday.  During a Wal-Mart visit recently we passed the children’s clothes and he had to pick out an outfit for his little hares.  My heart overflows.

I told Dad that he needed to stop talking that crazy talk - his home is in Amarillo.  Then I told him if he really wanted to leave I would call Larry and he said “no this was his home and he didn’t want to leave”.