Wednesday's Walk down Memory Lane: Daddy's hands...

Daddy’s hands….

There’s a country song called “Daddy’s Hands” (read words here). My Daddy did not have a job requiring physical labor to cause calluses; he was an accountant and VP Finance for a large corporation for many years. He played golf and tennis and loved to watch sports on TV. When the chorus refers to Daddy’s hands being “soft when I was crying…and hard as steel when I’d done wrong; Daddy’s hands weren’t always gentle but I’ve come to understand that there was ALWAYS love in Daddy’s hands”…I think of my Daddy. Daddy was an alcoholic, but not a mean one, at least to his children. He could cut to the core of my Mom’s heart, but he loved her and he loved us so well, and we all knew it. He simply had a disease that I believe robbed him for years of a lot of joy. Yet, in spite of it all, I have such fond memories of my Daddy. For example, every year from the time I was not quite a year old, he took us on nice family vacations. We visited places like: Acapulco, Mexico for several years; Jamaica; several nice places in Florida; and always we stayed in extremely nice accommodations, like villas with our own private pool and a full paid staff to wait on us hand and foot! He would get in the pool, go under, allow me to get on his shoulders; then he would stand up out of the water and let me jump or dive off! He would also do the “Nestea plunge” (like this—without the glass) at least once each vacation for our enjoyment; he would work the annual vacation jigsaw puzzle with us and swear from the beginning “there has to be a piece missing”; he would unexpectedly pat me, my siblings or most especially the grandchildren on the bottom as we walked by and say, “Personal kings X’, which meant, “I got you and you can’t get rid of it, nor can you do it back to me!”; he made sure ALL our needs were provided for and most of our wants (people used to say we were spoiled—I just say we were loved a lot!); he gave nice gifts to his family at Christmas and birthdays (my Mom picked most of them out, but when it came to nice jewelry, Daddy usually chose those, and always purchased my mother exquisite clothing and very nice lingerie each year for Christmas and/or birthday, usually along with a fabulous piece of jewelry!); oh, my Daddy loved us well. Yet, he was a stern disciplinarian! He did not put up with any “lip’ out of any of us to him or my Mom. Whether drinking or sober, he let us know quickly if we had crossed the line with either one of them with our comments, and made sure we knew it would not be tolerated! Even to this day I know that, were he still here and could hear the way children speak at times to or about their parents, I cringe knowing that he would not put up with it from me, even as an older adult. He would not hesitate telling me I was being inappropriate, dishonorable, or whatever the case may be and that he would not have it in his house! I so admire him for that! Though not without his vices and weaknesses, he was a wonderful Daddy, and if I could I would have him back here right now. Not really, as I know that, even though he became a Christian later in life (in his 40’s) he is dancing and rejoicing around the throne of our Lord and Savior, whole and healed. And I know one day I WILL see him again, hug his neck and remind him how much I love him! If you still have your Daddy, pick up the phone right now and call him to tell him how much you love him, and how much he has meant to you over the years. Once he’s gone, you won’t be able to express that! Have a fabulously blessed day! ~Lisa