Best memory you have of your dad

[79tx]

What is the best memory you have of your dad? My dad used to do little things that always made me smile. Like he would buy my favorite bag of candy and stick it under my pillow to surprise, or he would take us kids out to lunch for a one on one date with him. Good memories.

[glwanabe]

Ah memories,

I remember it well to this day. Dad showed up, and said he was leaving all of us. We knew it was only a matter of time for this event to happen, and it actually was a relief when he finally had the balls to do it.

My Sister was 18, I was 16, and my Brother 14. It hurt, but as the years have gone by I have come to realize that unless he was willing or able to be a far different person than who he is, it was the best thing he ever did for us.

The man has basically been dead to me for 30 years. He taught me the type of man I should not be, and I know the type of Dad I want to be to my Daughters becasue of him.

[BigJosh]

Originally Posted by glwanabe

.

. He taught me the type of man I should not be, and I know the type of Dad I want to be to my Daughters becasue of him.

I can relate to this. My Dad was a selfish person growing up. He would rather take from his family than make any sort of sacrifice for our well being. He lead his family with violence rather than wisdom and love. I will never treat my son how I was treated as a boy.
Having said that, people grow up and change. As he has aged he has legitimately seen the err in his ways. And I know he has felt remorse for his treatment of us.
He has earned a relationship with me now that I am an adult. I have forgiven him for his mistakes. I love my Dad and Know he would now do anything for me. And more importantly, he will always stand by me.

Sorry to go off on a kind of a serious rant.

Having said all that, despite the misery there were some good times growing up. One of my favorite is my Dad, my Uncle Phil, Myself and My brother lifting weights together in my Dad's garage after we all got of work. We did this probably 3 days a week for quite sometime. Those were great times.
I hate to admit, but there was a lot of curling and bench pressing going on in that garage!!!

[kitarpyar]

In so many ways, my dad is the best possible example for me. Right from my childhood, he walked me through most of the stuff that I cherish, whether it be playing cricket or soccer, photography, biking, swimming, a love for nature or a love for science.

We have had good times together and those times have molded me into the person that I am today. My first experimental research paper was co-authored with my dad, after I bugged him day and night to let me work as his research assistant while I was an undergraduate (my dad happens to be a professor). They were heady days, normal father-son talk would be interspersed with the research problem we were studying.

That set me on track for my career (finished my PhD last year, with the university research excellence award - and my dad was on hand in the commencement ceremony to see me get my degree and research award).

[Jen]

I hate Fathers Day.

[Off Road]

I thank my Dad for teaching me that "A job worth doing is worth doing right." It was frustrating, like when it took us twice as long to build fence together as when it was just me doing it, but dang it was a well built fence.

[MikeM]

My father saw everything in terms of black or white. I always saw some gray areas here and there, but he saw specific lines you do not cross or else. He grew up in a different time and felt like there were hard and fast rules to the universe, I always saw things a bit more loosely.

However as I've gotten older, I am more like him now. There is a right way and a wrong way and if you chip away at the right way, it becomes wrong.

I'm way older now than he was then teaching me those lessons, so I just wonder where he got such wisdom at such a relatively young age. He was 25 and my mom 20 when they had me. So my formative years were when he was 28-38 or so. My son was born when I was 40 and I still don't think I have as much common sense as dad had at 28. When I was 28 I'm not sure I could have poured piss out of a boot properly even if the instructions were written on the heel.

You always knew exactly what you were getting with my dad, always average never really spectacular, rock solid consistent. People never know what to expect out of me, sometimes great, sometimes awful, no consistency whatsoever.

I'm not sure that's a step forward for the human race, but then again things between dad and I were always complicated.

[5kgLifter]

I really don't have any good memories of my father and it's nice to see that some people have got great fathers, people they can look up to...but, though there is very little good I can associate with my father, I can't take away from him the fact that he put food on the table, though my mother worked as well.

[Tannhauser]

One fond memory of my Dad is his running commentary on pieces of music. He would put on -for example - some Glenn Miller, and it would go something lie this:

'Clifford - just listen to this - hear those 'bones -what a tone, eh? That's the great so-and-so on lead trombone. Zum-te-tum zum-te-tum, hear those brushes? Oh, just holds it under nicely [stands swaying, transported into some distant realm] - here they go again - and just hark at that sax, son - the harmonies! -tremendous, eh? Listen to that...DOO DAT, DOO DAT, BOM BOM BOM BOM DOO DAT DOO DAT.'

And so on in the same vein.

Good old Dad.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by 5kgLifter

I really don't have any good memories of my father and it's nice to see that some people have got great fathers, people they can look up to...but, though there is very little good I can associate with my father, I can't take away from him the fact that he put food on the table, though my mother worked as well.

I was hesitant to chime in for the same reason.

The best thing about my father is that he taught me how to be a father by doing the opposite of what a father should do.