Dad was in a lot of ways, an "old-school" Dad. Emotions were not something he showed easily, he worked long hours and read the newspaper. At one point, he even had a pipe!
But when he was at home, that perpetual motion made him a presence in our lives. Usually, "relaxing" at home meant repairing or maintaining something. When I was younger, I found that I could spend some quality time with my Dad as his helper on various projects. I held hammers, screwdrivers, wood, helped mix concrete, etc. I learned how to mow a lawn pretty early on--and even earned some extra money that way when I was old enough.
Even Fun for Dad was in Motion. Planning and organizing, going and exploring. Every summer, we would spend one to two weeks visiting my maternal Grandparents in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Dad would often schedule those weeks to coincide with a festival or other summer event. He would look in newspapers and find happenings around us to go to. Planned visits to the Zoo and museums. I especially loved visits to the Lincoln museum, where they had lots of President Lincoln memorabilia.
My love of trying new things and going to theater and planning and organizing -- these traits can all trace back to this man.
When I was a child, my Dad was my hero. I asked for his advice for everything, wanted his approval for anything I was doing. He gave me pony back rides, he listened to me, we did projects big and small together. As I grew into adulthood, I found out, as we all do, that my Dad was a human being after-all.
There were some tough, trying times, as my parents divorced and my Dad took a bit of time to find himself again. For a while, he seemed a-drift. He would call me, and open up to me in such un-Dad-like fashion that it scared me.
Time changes us all, but we often find our way back. He found love again. He found himself again. His later years, he was back into that Perpetual Motion...playing in a concert band, going to theater and shows, enjoying the nature and history around him with his new wife. He had friends and our family grew to include grandchildren.
We lost him on June 2nd. That heart that helped him keep going, moving, exploring...finally stopped moving.
Rest.
