Ain’t No Other Man…

There is and never will be another man like him.

I’ve posted pictures of my dad and said quick things here before about him. But, I don’t think I have really ever written down what he was like, what he did.

My dad served in the Navy. I don’t remember much about this time (honestly, as a young child, my memories are pretty faded). But, there are times I remember when he would come home from work and I would think, I love my daddy’s uniform.

We were a happy family, but often lived from paycheck to paycheck. In fact, we ate macaroni and cheese often. We lived in an apartment and I remember that there was only one car. I’ve been told that at one point, my parents didn’t even have a car. When you think about times now, every driving member of a household has a vehicle. Such a foreign concept these days.

My father would shine his shoes every week, and I loved his shoe-shine box that had all those brushes, and rags and cans of polish. I LOVED this time. Putting on his shoes, pretending to shine my own.

I remember my father shaving off his mustache a couple of times in my childhood – every time, I was frightened of him. Isn’t that funny? I mean, here was this same man, just without facial hair. And, that frightened me about him.

As I got older, and my family was doing much better financially – they finally bought their first home when we lived in Georgia. It was before my brother was born, and I was in Middle School. My dad was so in his element at this time…He was into wood working and he would make things for the house. He built custom frames and mattes for the cross stitch pieces my mom and he would make. Even later on in life he built an addition to the house and put in a well and sprinkler system.

I get so much from him: creativity, logic skills, lack of patience, temper

I’ve never written any of this down. But, I often think to myself, what would life be like now if he were still alive? A man that worked so hard to give his family a home and multiple cars. We had come a long way. I loved my dad so much and I loved spending Saturdays with him when we’d go shopping for hardware supplies for the next big project in the house.

Now, we face struggles again. Not like we did. But, we struggle. Maintaining a house that needs a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoy and take pride in completing projects as a woman where many women would flinch at the thought of doing it themselves. I wish he was still here. I wonder if there would be more structure or less casualness in our daily living. I look at people in my life daily and think, you are totally taking everything you have for granted. And, you have no idea that you are doing it.

Yes, I would do anything to have him back here with us again. Dying of cancer in your 40s isn’t fair. He was one of the good ones. One of the men that everyone loved. Still loves. Did so much for so many people.

So, today, I honor my father on this father’s day. Except, I’d like to call it Daddy’s Day – because he was my daddy. Love and miss you so much.

I didn’t have time to pull out old photos of us, but had this online already. It’s of my dad and my sister. Both have passed away and this memory is one that I will cherish forever.