Sunday, June 17, 2018

THE LONG TOUGH ROAD OF BEING A DAD

      Here's a photo of my dad from 1936-37. It's before he was married and he had just started farming on his own. He's a rather cheerful handsome looking dude. 


      Here's Dad in 2002 at his 90th birthday. His Parkinson's was quite advanced by that time but he still appreciated his birthday and said that he never thought he would grow to be 90 years old. 



     Here's the last picture I have with Dad. He was 92-93 and Parkinson's was well advanced. 



     I can't help but notice the long slow deterioration in health.
   
     He raised 4 sons . We were a challenge. At the 90th birthday party some of the biggest issues were mentioned with humor. A certain motorcycle purchase was a sore spot.

     However, the great sadness for him being a Dad was to not be able to raise his only daughter. She died at age 11 and he never was able to come to terms with her loss.

27 comments:

  1. Nice tribute to your father. Sorry about the loss of his only daughter and your only sister. Your dad looks very robust in his late age and he lived a long life. Your family of brothers all look very cheerful like your dad in the vintage photo at the top.

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    1. Dad was a big man. He had huge shoulders and long arms.

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  2. Losing a child has to be the worst heartbreak there is. Your dad lived a long life.

    Happy Father's Day, Red!

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    1. Dad was 95 when he died but his last few years he did not have a good quality of life.

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  3. Thanks for sharing about your Dad, Parkinsons is a horrid disease. Happy Fathers Day:)

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  4. What a wonderful tribute to your Dad on Father's Day. I love the pictures you have shared. It is obvious he was a hard working man and raised a wonderful family. Happy Father's Day to you Red!

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    1. Thanks. Dad was born and raised on a farm and was a farmer all his life. He loved fishing, visiting and travel.

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  5. A nice tribute to your father, he reached a high age despite his Parkinson.

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    1. His Parkinson's was late onset. He was diagnosed at age 85.

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  6. In those days, they never came to terms with many losses. Hubby lost his father at age 2. His mother and grandmother never came to terms with it. It's pretty tough, but we know more about grief, now. Thankfully.
    What a fine family you have, and a fine father you are!

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    1. You're right that we have learned a few things about dealing with grief. I always had a lesson or two on loss and grief. Most gr 7's were quite interested as at that age they were usually left out of the process.

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  7. I really liked meeting your dad and hearing his story. To live to 93 with a progressive disease is an accomplishment in itself. Sorry to hear about his loss. He raised at least one really good son, though. You. :-)

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    1. Dad lived to be 95. Along with his Parkinson's he had macular degeneration.

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  8. We watch the aging process in our parents and may not realize it is happening to us too. then all of a sudden we are old too!
    The death of a child is very hard to recover from.

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    1. I was 68 when Dad died so yes at that time I would be classified as elderly.

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  9. I bet it was especially hard being a parent in a time when the loss of a child was much more common. Your dad certainly lived to a ripe old age!

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    1. You hit a key point. Dad had a tough time to keep himself together so some of his sons missed some parenting. We got away with things we never should have gotten away with.

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  10. So sad to lose a child. I outlived a wife and that was bad enough.I like his strength and diligence even with all going the other way in his 90's. My parents would have been 94 this year.

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    1. Dad also lost two wives. He was interested in people and it kept him going.

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  11. I had a chance to chat with my dad yesterday. He seems to be doing well. A great tribute to your dad.

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  12. These are lovely photos. So sorry to hear about the loss of your sister.

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    1. The birthday photo was in 2002 so that's 16 years ago.

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  13. The loss of a child is so tragic. Your dad certainly lived a long and interesting life!

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    1. As kids we didn't realize how much they suffered but as adults we look back and realize the pain they suffered.

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  14. A nice post Red. In the last photo, who is that fellow standing next to your father? I am guessing that he was one of the care workers.

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  15. Hi Red, Nice work on this post honoring your dad and covering both joy and sadness. That is a neat picture of you with him at 92/93.

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