I had the good fortune to be born to good parents.  Now, I’m not claiming they were perfect or didn’t make any mistakes.  That would be a rose-colored glasses statement and I’m not going there.  What I will say is they were good parents in the fact that they loved their kids and tried their best to make a good home.  I appreciate both of them and honor them for what they were able to provide and do for their little family.  Along the way, they imparted the lessons they learned in life that they thought would help me become a decent human being.  Here are a few of my dad’s nuggets of wisdom.

Pull for the underdog

Actually both of my parents were underdog cheerleaders.  That could explain why my dad’s teams are the Denver Broncos for NFL; Boston Red Sox for baseball; and Wyoming Cowboys for college anything.  Hoity-toity was never dad’s forte or style.   If there is an underdog that is not playing one of the above teams then he pulls for that team. That could be handy in a general sense as well.  There are a lot of folks out there that need a cheerleader because societal norms are saying they can’t do something or worse, that they don’t measure up somehow. I can be a cheerleader for an underdog.

Just keep driving

Dad worked as a salesman for a local wholesale grocer.  His route included traveling to towns 100 miles away three times a week.  I once calculated he traveled enough miles to travel to the moon and would be on a return trip. Not too impressive in this day of around the world traveling until you realize dad did it 100 miles at a time or 200 miles a day.   One thing I heard him say often is if the weather was stormy or unpleasant (we are Wyomingites after all) he would not turn back right away.  He’d keep driving and more often than not would drive out of the storm.  It didn’t always work but he learned not to give up at the first sign of stormy clouds.  I have learned to keep going even if I’d rather not.  It usually works out much better than I expected.  I can drive out of the storm.

Get some work in you

I could probably count on my fingers how many days dad stayed home sick during his 50+ year career.  He just didn’t let himself get sick.  If he did feel a bit ill in the morning he could usually go to work and get feeling better by moving around and working.  Now there were times when he was actually sick and needed to be in bed.  Since those times didn’t happen often they would make me a little nervous.  And him.  He usually ended up with cabin fever by the end of the day and needed to get out of bed and the house.  I have learned that sometimes the best cure is actually to go to work and get a little work in my system.

These are just a few of the lessons I learned from my dad.  I can’t say that I have learned them perfectly yet since I am still a work in progress.  But I am thankful for my parents and what they tried to teach me.

What lesson from your dad have you found yourself following as an adult?