Let Me Tell You about my Dad

Every little girl should be a daddy's little girl. When I was growing up I thought my dad was perfect. (I have since learned differently, but have chosen to forget that part !) We had the most unique toys of anyone: a bicycle built for two, a trampoline before trampolines were cool, and ski skates ! If you don't know what ski skates are, just think about it for a moment. So, anyway, back in the day, it used to snow and that meant presents for us - puzzles, games, coloring books, crayons - you name it ! And sometimes, if I was really good at it, I could fake sick and get to stay home from school. (That never worked, however, on Sunday nights when the Wizard of Oz came on t.v. during church.) And if I got to stay home from school, that meant tomato soup, cheese sandwiches and more games.
Daddy would always make sure everyone was taken care of, which sometimes meant holding onto his paycheck until everyone else in the plant got paid first. But Friday night meant hot dogs and Cheerwine.... yum! He took us to the beach faithfully two weeks out of the summer - dropping us off on Sunday and returning to the work week and coming back on Saturday. Then the camping phase - a whole new adventure and another future post.
Throughout the years, my dad has spent so much money on his girls and his grandchildren; he is an endless supply of support, but more importantly he is an endless supply of wisdom. He truly took his father role seriously.
One winter day I was visiting my parents with my two young sons. It began to ice and snow and I needed to get home. My dad said he needed to go to the store and that he would follow me as far as the store so that I would be safe. (We lived about 25 minutes away and the store was halfway.) I crept along, praying all the way that we would not slip off the road. A 25-minute ride turned into a 50-minute ride, but as I turned down my street, I looked in the rearview mirror and my daddy had followed me all the way !
The Bible says that God is a father to us, a giver of good and perfect gifts, our Creator, our hope, our first love. My daddy set an example of an earthly father with a lot of things, but most importantly introduced me to my heavenly Father who is perfect. My heavenly Father watches all the way for me. Not only does He follow, but He leads, He surrounds, He holds and He gives - only the very best.

Funny Little Tales

So, the principal calls the house and leaves this message on the machine, "Mrs. Erdman, please call me at your earliest possible convenience." Ten-year-old Skip runs into the house and I say, "Whoa, young man, why would your principal be wanting to talk to me today?" He confesses to 10 or so sins that he committed just that day. I call the principal and he says, "Will you please serve on a parent committee for school accreditation?" I laugh.

So Far Away

"So far away, doesn't anybody stay in one place any more? It would be so fine to see your face at my door." Years ago (back in the dark ages of the 70s) my sister and I loved to listen to Carole King. Her sultry voice haunts me today as I remember one song in particular, "So Far Away." It just reminds me of little boys who grow up much too quickly and laundry piles that grow smaller... of daily grocery trips that now cost $15.72 instead of the monthly Sam's trips that cost $1,572. (What a difference a little dot like a decimal makes!) The pitter patter of little feet that transitioned into the thump thump thump of huge feet has given way to total silence on the hardwood floor. Many days and nights I spend with no noise and wonder where it all went. God's plan is that we are given children for a short time to enjoy and to love and to help along. I am not sure I did that much to help them along, but God certainly did His part with His grace and mercy. Now they are men, making their own way .... sometimes running, sometimes limping, sometimes skipping, sometimes stumbling .... but ALWAYS looking up to the heavens from whence cometh their strength.

While everyone is so far away and everyone has grown up, God saves His other gifts for the "over 50" crowd...... daughter-in-law and grandchildren!