Father's Day

Thank you, Dad, for not forcing me to eat my peas, for teaching to ride a bike, for coaching me in soccer that one year I went out (though I'm not sure my doing cartwheels and backbends on the field can constitute soccer), for helping to teach me how to drive, for coming to all of my gymnastics meets, for coming to all of my dance recitals, which I know you hated, for cheering me on while I was a cheerleader for football and wrestling in high-school, thank you for not freaking out when I told you I was dating Matt Siders, for walking me down the aisle and giving me away all of those years ago, for fixing things in our house when it breaks, for teaching me how to put in a stick-tile kitchen floor and how to tile a countertop, thanks for walking me through how to unclog a kitchen drain when I lived five hours away. 

Most of all, Dad, thank you for fighting pancreatic cancer so valiantly, for still getting up and going, for coming to your grandson's games when you probably don't feel like it. Thank you for fighting, so, so hard, to be here this Father's Day when so many didn't think you would be. Thanks for showing me how to find courage in scary times, thanks for never wavering in your faith during times that others would stumble, but most of all, thanks for being my dad. I'm so glad we have another Father's Day with you. Love you

Happy Birthday, Dad

When my dad stopped treatment for his pancreatic cancer in December because it wasn't helping, he set a goal to be alive for his 70th birthday. Dad was 68 when he was diagnosed with this cancer and he's fought it for a lot longer than most people ever get the chance to. I am proud to say that today my dad turns 70 and tonight, my boys and I are celebrating with the rest of my family. We know this birthday is extra special and we are so thrilled that Dad set that goal and is here for this big day! Happy Birthday to my dad, so incredibly blessed to be celebrating this day with him

Fighting the Good Fight

Dad has to give his sermons sitting down now, but he's still giving them and for that, I am thankful.  What a fighter this man is.  I'm so proud to be his daughter.

Thankful for Dad's Healthy Years

Today I am grateful and thankful to have a dad, who until being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over a year ago, was never sick.  My dad was the healthiest man I knew, even hiking the Grand Canyon not too long before his diagnosis.  So, while I am so angry that at only 69, my dad's time with us is limited, I must remind myself to be thankful for all of the extremely healthy years my dad had before pancreatic cancer struck.

Thankful for Mom and Dad's Marriage

Today I am thankful to have a dad who never left Mom's side during her 40+ years journey with HCM. Dad and Mom went through a lot together with her HCM. More trips to Mayo than I can count, Mom's open heart surgery over 30 years ago, a sudden cardiac arrest, so many hospitalizations, a heart transplant, biopsies and more. Dad has been a wonderful caregiver to Mom (well, as much as she would allow to be cared for :) Together Mom and Dad made this journey into something positive. Dad's been a great role model to Matt as we have embarked on my HCM journey, though with a much different path than Mom's took (so far. Thank goodness. And, Matt's and my trips to Mayo are always fun getaways for us!). 

Now Mom is becoming the caregiver to Dad as he battles pancreatic cancer and I know that all he's done for Mom in the last 40+ years will come back full-circle and for that, not only am I thankful, but I see just how blessed my parents are to have the marriage that they have had.

Thanks for Not Talking

Today I am thankful for a request Dad had of me as I was growing up, the request that I not talk during dinner until I was finished eating, because otherwise I would simply sit there, chattering away, and not eat my dinner.   At the time I remember thinking that was such a mean request and how could my dad NOT want to hear my voice? But now as a parent of a chatterbox, and I do mean a chatterbox, I can see why Dad asked that in the first place.

 I'm pretty sure though it wasn't really because I wouldn't eat, it was because my endless talking may or may not have grated on his nerves and he just wanted to eat in peace.  Though I've not yet requested that of the chatterbox in my home, I totally get why he did it.  :)

Thankful for a Father/Daughter Dance

This photo captures a great memory of my wedding so many years ago, it's of Dad and me during the Father/Daughter dance.  You can't tell it in this picture so much, but I was bawling throughout the entire dance and of course, in my father's typical fashion, he kept saying to me, "Why are you crying?  This is a happy time."  This in turn made me laugh and then cry.  Today I am thankful for having this dance with my dad. I realize that not every girl who gets married is lucky enough to get to dance with her dad at her wedding and this picture will be a memory I carry with me forever.

Thanks to Dad for Being a Grandpa

Today I am thankful for a dad who must be a pretty wonderful grandpa if his 8-year old grandson writes something like this about him (written exactly like Brady wrote):

"My grandpa is cool and awesome. He is brave. He's fighting pancreatic cancer. In the war my grandpa shot missles in the milatiry. My grandpa is helpful cus he fixes stuff at my house when we need him to."

Thanks to Dad for His Lap

Growing up I have vivid memories of a dad who's lap I could crawl onto and cuddle up in.  One such memory stands out in my mind, I couldn't have been more than five and I know this because we still lived in our home in Des Moines and had not moved to Johnston yet.  I remember bedtime and my dad allowing me to stay up late to watch Starsky and Hutch with him, all snuggled in his lap.

I can't say why this memory stands out in my mind (except I was five and watching Starsky and Hutch.  Umm, really?) but I do remember just feeling completely happy to be on Dad's lap, just hanging out the two of us and staying up later than I was supposed to.  Sitting on Dad's lap made me feel safe and loved and today I am so grateful to have had that lap to snuggle up on when I needed it.

Thanks to Dad for My Vocab

It's 2013 (first off, how did that happen?) and I've decided I don't want to stop my thanks to Dad posts, so this will continue (sorry if you hate them people, but it's helping me a ton as I work through the idea of losing him). 

So today, I am thankful to my dad for all of the colorful new words I learned from him growing up as I listened to him working in his shop, fixing things around the house or even working in the yard. My vocabulary would be missing many, many words if not for Dad. 

New Year, Same Fight

Today I am so thankful to my dad for fighting so hard against pancreatic cancer. He has fought since his diagnosis in October 2011 and made it so much longer than most pancreatic cancer patients ever do. For this, I am so grateful because we have had the gift of time with him. While I know now that Dad's time is limited (I still have a hard time saying and writing the words, "dying"), I am so thankful for the time we've had with him since October 2011. There have been a lot more "I love you's", a lot more hugs and a lot more just being together as a family. So, as the New Year approaches, I am thankful for the gift of time together that so many people do not get with this horrible disease. Love you, Dad.

Thanks for our Family Dog

One day, many years ago, my dad and I were going to head to the humane society and adopt a collie that they had advertised. I was so excited to get a new dog to add to our family and so happy Dad asked me to come with him, we are both big dog lovers. Of course, because I was in like 7th or 8th grade, I could not leave the house until I had curled my girl-mullet and put on make up (that I was finally allowed to wear), so we left the house much later than anticipated. 

Dad waited patiently (I think) and by the time we made it to the humane society, the collie dog was already adopted. Luckily for me, I have a dad who wanted another dog as much as I did, so we ended up bringing home Sam, a sheltie-mutt dog who quickly became one of the best dogs we ever had. Today I am thankful for a dad who didn't lose his mind while waiting for his newly teen daughter to get dressed, fully apply her makeup and do her hair all to get ready to go to the pound, because we ended up with the perfect dog for our family

Thanks For the Gift of Memories

Today I am thankful to have a dad who created memories with my boys, not by buying them things, but by taking them fishing, patiently helping them put worms on a hook, or taking Max to golf lessons and out to lunch, going to as many baseball games as possible, a grandpa who made them things that they can keep forever and someday will look at and say, "My Grandpa Jim made that for me when I was little." I realize that at ages 8 and 10, they don't quite realize how lucky they are to have a grandpa who does things like this for them and with them, and I know that I will make sure those memories are not stored away in my boys' minds, but always fresh, because not everyone is as lucky as they are

Thanks for How I Was Raised

Today I am thankful for having a dad who I grew up respecting. My biggest fear in life was causing him disappointment because I respected him so much. I never wanted to let him down and when I did, the disappointment I had in myself was pretty huge. I am lucky that I had a dad who would tell me he was disappointed in what I had done and then explain why, but I'm also lucky that I was raised in a way that disappointing your father was all it took to turn around a behavior

Thankful to Dad- Lay Pastor

This Christmas Eve, I am thankful to my dad for following his faith and his heart a few years ago when he decided he wanted to minister somehow to others.  Dad took lay ministry courses and became a lay pastor.  He now pastor's at a local Methodist church and I can't tell you how proud I am of him.  Tonight I will proudly watch and listen (as I always do) to my dad give the Christmas Eve message at his church.  There is no other place I would want to be this Christmas Eve, then listening to my dad tell the story of Christmas.  The memories from tonight will be something I will carry with me forever.

Thanks to Dad for My Brother

Today I am thankful to my dad for marrying my mom and giving me this guy as a big brother.  Growing up, my brother drove me crazy and I honestly could never picture that we would ever really get along.  Today, he's one of the best people I know and besides being my brother, he's my friend.  I don't say it enough but I consider myself incredibly lucky to have him as a brother.  On top of all of this, I have to say thanks to my dad for this picture, because as I was reliving memories and going through old pictures looking for a picture of Paul, I came across this never before seen gem, that evidently one day about 41-years ago, my mom thought her son would look outstandingly stylish in this ensemble and put it on him, white baby belt and all.    I.just.can't.handle.it. 

Thanks to Dad For Christmas

Today I am thankful to my dad for coming every Christmas morning to watch my boys unwrap their presents.  Each year, at the crack of dawn (like 6:00AM) Dad and Mom will drive to my house and watch my boys open their gifts.  I don't think my boys realize what a blessing this is, but someday, when they look back at pictures and see their Grandpa Jim in the background of these pictures year after year, they will realize just how special it was that Grandpa got to be there for 10 and 8 Christmases respectively.

Thanks to Dad- Always Being There

Today I am thankful to my dad for always being there for me, I know he's always a phone call away to calm me or help me through something, plus he does it in a way that always makes me laugh because of his responses to my panic.  For example, years ago when I was still teaching and living in Waterloo, my car was broken into by having the window bashed in, and my bag phone for the car was stolen (yes, I said "bag phone", those things were super cool), I called my dad crying trying to tell him what had happened.
His response?  "Kaye, were you actually in the car at the time someone bashed in your window and took the phone?"
 Me, "Umm, no."
 Dad, "Then why are you crying?"  He then proceeded to walk me through what to do next.

Or the time I was flying back from the Detroit area after visiting an old friend years ago, and I stepped off the plane at O'hare only to discover all of the flights back into Cedar Rapids were cancelled due to a March snow storm.  I was panicked and on the verge of tears, all alone in this huge airport.  So, I called my dad (of course), but not with the bag phone- that was stolen, see above, and Dad walked me through exactly what to do, erasing the panic I had at being alone in an airport in a huge city where I knew no one.

I am thankful to have a dad who calms me with the right things to say, and always knows what to do to help his daughter.

Thankful Today- What a Husband Should Be

Today I am thankful for having a dad who has remained a faithful, loyal and loving husband to my mom for 44 years. He has been through so much with Mom and her battle with HCM and never wavered in his commitment to her. So thankful to have a father who showed me what a husband should look like

Thankful for Mr. Fix-It

Today I am thankful to have a dad who can fix most anything and to this day, he is the first person I call when I need something repaired at my house. I've been married for almost 12-years, but it's still Dad that I call for fix-it advice. So thankful to have a dad who is there to help on so many things when we need it