Our Dad

Our dad is a very special person. Dad has been there for all nine of us children through thick and thin. We can find some shortcomings if we look for shortcomings, but I want the world to know his one amazing quality. Love.
Dad was a well respected man in the Verndale, Minnesota farming community that I grew up in. Dad managed to buy the machinery that he and our neighbors needed to harvest our crops. Our neighbors would hire dad to thresh their grains. These were especially fun times for the farmers because we would all share the effort. Each farm would supply tractors and wagons to haul the bundles of grain to dad's threshing machine. Lunch and dinner was served by the women. You have not lived until you eat a threshing meal. Yum!
Dad has a foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. Dad was grateful for what we had. Dad openly gave thanks to God. http://picasaweb.google.com/kayakbandit/HessFamilyStuff#5178444424297914194
Dad was and still is very stoic. I did not see dad cry when mom died, but we all know how very much he cared for my mom. The same is true of his expression of love to each of us. Dad did not give flowers or flowery praise. Did showed a sense of his love in less overt ways. I remember often, Dad would tell about our accomplishments to our neighbors and friends. When I would overhear him speaking well of me, I determined to do even better. I knew he had noticed.
Because of his stoicism, he did not hold us or hug us. One way to get near him was in church. I tried very hard to sit next to dad in church. We would start out with me sitting up straight. After time, I would start slouching toward dad. If I flopped over against dad, he would make me sit up again, but if I slouched slowly toward him, he would allow me to snuggle close and feel his strength and smell the scent of a real man.
I am thankful that I have such a wonderful man for a role model.
Kayak Bandit