This time of year....

Is difficult for me at best...I lost my father 3 years ago this week...right before Thanksgiving....and my birthday....so it is a very sad reminder when it should be a happy time for me.  Well, the birthday part used to be happier when the number wasn't so big!!!

However, I am still thankful for how many years I was able to share with him before he passed.  I am also thankful for all he taught me over the years.  A lot of which I am able to put to good use here on the homestead.  Learning how to stack wood so it would dry; loading it into the basement through the window to use in the wood-burning furnace we had for a few years.  How to start the fire in it; how to clean the chimney and the pipes; what kind of wood to burn.  I may not chop the wood with an axe like he did, but I have respect for the logs - the size and heft - and how they will split.  He also taught me how to be careful when working with tools and how to do it safely.  These things are important when you are operating a high-powered log splitter and watching how the pieces will fall off the unit so you don't end up with a broken foot.  It doesn't matter if I am just using a Phillips head screwdriver or a table saw, pay attention, don't overwork the tool and put it away when you are done.  Important stuff...

I used to work alongside my father no matter what he was doing.  I think it was my thirst for learning by doing.  He showed me how to work all manner of power tools - radial arm saw, table saw, skil-saw, drill press, and non-power tools - screwdrivers, wrenches, ratchets, and the list goes on.  I helped him build picture frames, doll houses...was right by his side watching as he fixed things around the house.  I used to help him sort his nails, screws, nuts and bolts into baby food or pickle jars that he would nail the cap to the underside of a board and then screw the jar up into it.  He taught me how to paint and stain.  He showed me the basics of car maintenance - checking and changing the oil, changing a tire, how to check a radiator without getting 3rd degree burns, how to change windshield wipers.  He always had the time to teach if you wanted to learn.  I am glad I took the time to learn and had the opportunity to spend so much time doing it with him.  Even in my later years, before I met my husband, I would call and ask for his knowledge to do something around the house or ask his opinion about something.  And he always made the time.  Special memories for me.

He may not be here, physically, on Earth anymore, but I feel his spirit close to me and still feel his hand guiding mine and can hear him helping me through life.  Still...after all this time.  And it is very comforting.

If I had it my way, he would still be here.  But some things are out of our hands...and the mere fact that he is no longer suffering is good enough for me.  I miss you Dad and love you.  Always.