10 Things My Dad Has Taught Me

Today is the one year anniversary of my dad's death. It's unbelievable that is has been a whole year, it seems like only yesterday that I was in the hospital holding his hand. There were very few times during the 3 1/2 days he was in the hospital that I wasn't holding his hand; I felt like if I let it go, he would slip away.

But, in an attempt not to be too sad today, I thought I would put a positive spin on today's tragic anniversary and makes a list of 10 things my dad has taught me.

#1. How to Laugh

Obviously, as the picture above will let you know, my dad had a very good sense of humor. Almost too good in some situations as he could say the most out there thing at the worst time, too. But he loved to tell jokes, pull practical jokes on people and he loved to laugh.

#2. How to Work Hard

My dad was definitely a hard worker. My dad worked for General Motors for 35 years before he retired. And even after retirement, he went stir crazy and worked at 3 more jobs! He worked his butt off at GM as up until I was 12 years old and my mom started working there too, we were a single income family, plus, my dad drove 2 hours each way to work, every single day. So his 8 hour or 12 hour days were more like 12 or 16 hour days. He did this for us, but mostly my mom, she wanted to be near all of her family which is why we never moved closer to where my dad worked.

#3. How to Ice Skate

He would take me into the town arena every weekend during every Winter to skate. I remember him teaching me by pushing a chair around. I hated skated in years, but I do remember it was something that I loved to do with my dad - even though neither one of us ended up being very good at it!

#4. How to NOT Spend Money

Yes, he lead by example on how to not spend money. My mom, about 2 years before she passed away, inherited a lot of money, and instead of paying off their house, they enjoyed what they always wanted. My dad purchased a trailer in Florida, a new car, a Can-AM Spider, a race horse, and I can't even imagine what else we didn't know about. We didn't even know about the race horse until he passed away. So, my dad, in particular, was not good at spending money. My mom had always managed the finances and I think when they received this inheritance, my dad decided he was going to do anything he had ever wanted to in life. Which is a good thing, but I am definitely more practical and know how to spend money just a little bit better.

#5. My Love of NASCAR

My father loved NASCAR and it was always our thing to do together. Every Sunday we would watch the race together. He was a Earnheardt Jr fan and I was a Jeff Gordon fan, so we had our rivalry with it too. We even took 3 NASCAR bus trips together and I will never forget those moments. I still watch and love NASCAR, but it's not the same watching the race on Sunday without him.

#6. How to Drive

My mom initially attempted to teach me how to drive, but she was one of those 'backseat drivers' and I think we both drove eachother crazy during this process. So, my dad took over and taught me how to drive at an easier pace.

#7. How to Ride a Bike
Training wheels were on for a long time, but I do remember the day my dad told me he was hanging onto the seat and I turned around and he wasn't. I dropped that bike so fast and ran into the house crying that he had lied to me! But it did work, luckily, because we lived out in the country so learning to ride a bike was kind of essential.

#8. How to Make the Perfect Grilled Cheese
My dad definitely wasn't a cook. My mom loved to cook and was amazing at it, so my dad never had to worry about it - until my mom had knee replacement surgery and was in the hospital for about a week. We ate nothing but take out and grilled cheese during that entire time, and he even taught me how to make them. I think it was really the first thing I ever learned how to cook!

#9. More then I ever wanted to know about Western movies.
My dad loved his old time Western movies, and would watch the same ones - over and over again. He was also a tv hog when I lived at home, so I ended up learning all about Westerns. I can't say they were my cup of tea, but I definitely learned a lot about them, thanks to dad!

#10. How to escape a bat in the house.
One of my funniest memories as a child was one night that we had a bat in our house. I was about 4 or 5 years old at the time. My dad spotted it on the fireplace, right before it took off and started flying around the house. My dad screamed, jumped up from the living room and ran down the hallway to the bedrooms. I had never saw my dad freak out like this, so I was immediately scared and ran after him to what I thought would be safety. Instead, I saw him crawling on his hands and knees down the hallway, and when I got to the bedroom door he slammed the door in my face! I still laugh about that moment and how he was in such a panic he didn't realize his little girl was running scared behind him. But that image of my big, strong, dad crawling down the hallway on his hands and knees? Will always make me laugh, even if I am in the worst mood ever.