I've had the flu the last couple of days. As a result I'm laying around in bed, thinking a lot.
Last night I started thinking about dad. I thought of all the things he taught me.
He was part of the "greatest generation," growing up during the depression.
He wrote,
"I consider it quite a blessing that we had no money. We had to scratch. When I finally got a dress coat, I was out of high school. We were always in deep trouble with money. We did any old thing to make ends meet. We picked strawberries, we picked cherries. We couldn't wait until June and July when the fruit came in. When we picked it we could get a quarter per case. One summer we went up there to Mount Olympus and picked worms."
He learned a hard work ethic and sticking together as a family from those early years. He fought in WWII as a young man.
I learned from him a deep love of this country. To never take for granted all the wonderful opportunities and blessings this great nation has to offer.
After the war he married our mom.
A woman he cherished throughout his life.
He was a devoted family man.
He loved his June and us kids more than anything and gave us everything, not just monetarily.
He gave us a magical childhood. We had fun growing up.
There was lots of laughter..much joy.
He taught me about persistence.
One of his favorite quotes was by Calvin Coolidge.
"Persistence
Nothing can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
He certainly lived this.
There were many examples where he taught me this principal. While he worked as an optometrist, coached, approached any problem, but one in particular comes to mind.
He always wanted to build a golf course.
As a young boy, he would caddy for "a dollar a loop," at the Salt Lake Country Club, hoping for a dime tip so he could buy a hamburger.
When he got older and had some land in Parleys Canyon, he could just see a world class golf course rolling through those hills.
It couldn't be just any old course, it had to be the best.
So he just called Arnold Palmer and made it the beautiful world class course that it is today. Every time I drive up that canyon and see that golf course I am reminded of the lesson of persistence my dad taught.
Also, that one of following a dream.
He certainly followed his dreams.
Which leads me to another thing I learned from him.
Dad became very successful. He always told me that all the" things" he had were nice and even fun to have, but they were just" things".
The trick was to remember that, and to be just as happy if you didn't have those things as you are when you do have them.
He proved this to me, when one day he lost most of what he had. During that time he became great to me, because he lived what he preached.
He was as happy as before.
He continued to work, to be joyful, because he had what was of most importance to him.
He had his wife, his family
his faith..he could work.
The challenge was before him, and he was no quitter.
I learned faith from him.
He had an unwavering faith and was a positive thinker.
He knew things would work out, as the scripture says.
"Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly."
D&C 90:24
I learned about imperfections from him. For all that he accomplished, he was not perfect. No man is. Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever been perfect on this earth. But I learned that you can always keep trying, I learned to not let imperfections get in the way, to strive to be better, to learn and to move on striving to be a better more compassionate person.
Mostly I learned from my dad, that family is the most important thing this world has to offer. For all the trials he overcame, when he lost his June, I think that one was just one that was too big for him, yet he did have his kids and grandkids to surround him with their love and that was the greatest blessing to him. Because of his love for them, those grandkids circled around him and poured out love unimaginable.
Thank you dad for these and many more valuable life lessons.
love, polly
(just a little of Giggs and June's posterity-still having fun and carrying on as they would have us do)
