Grandpa Smith

My dad is such a great dad. He had some medical meetings in Tahoe and with us living so close to Tahoe he was able to spend some quality time us. He has never been able to come to Reno to visit us so it was a treat for us to show him the house he owns half of (poor man) ;) and what our lives are like out here. It was so fun to spend time with him again. He is one of a kind - sort of a character, a lovely one but still someone who does not fit in with the masses. While he was here I remembered all these things that I love about my Dad:

- How he always wears his flannel shirts. Well, he is either dressed like a very professional doctor or a farmer, one or the other. Oh, and his suits are always blue, always.
- He smiles with his eyes
- How sweet he is to my kids and when they are jumping off the walls he delights in it
- How he is 81 and still working like a work horse
- How when he makes up his mind it is made and there is no persuading him
- That the one thing he likes most about my house is how well it is insulated
- That he tells me what a patient mother I am and how well behaved my children are and its not to flatter me but as a simple observation he's made
- Listening to him tell stories about his childhood - poor man had a traumatic youth, bless his heart! But he never complains, just tells the stories with the attitude of someone whose had decades to appreciate the growth they've benefited him, and has a sense of humor about it all
- That he can sit with my husband and talk all about medical stuff and about technological gadgets
- That when he saw my back yard he said, "Wow, this really is big." :)
- That he loves going on walks as much as I do
- That he is so content to spend normal everyday time with us
- He thinks my house is lovely even at its absolute worst
- That even though I've told him a millions times about my business I can tell him once more and find he really has forgotten about it and he'll be astonished by it and tell me how talented I am.
- That he still gets all our names mixed up :) a trademark quality
- That he is always a student. He always has the attitude of someone wanting to learn from you, never condescending always wanting to learn from you.
- How he tells me about the text books he has bought and is reading about anthropology and other random sciences.
- That despite what a remarkable man he is he's understated and down to earth.
- That he is so generous - perhaps to a fault, one of the most generous people I know
- That he will tell me something about the lifetime he lived before I was born (he was 55 when I was born) and it will be totally new to me - like the fact that he bought a property in Truckee California once paying for it with a Corvette, I had no idea people could do things like that, and then a couple years later sold it and happened to make a killing on it. Or how he owned a fabric store and then sold it to the little ladies he had running it for just one dollar - not much of a killing there. But super nice of him :)
- That I know he worked so so so hard for his entire life to be the man God wanted him to be, the best husband he could be, and the best provider and protector to his children he could possibly be and he is still working as hard as ever at that labor today.

The older I get I realize just how much I like about myself that I owe to my parents. This trip I got to see more of my Dad in me. I don't wear flannel shirts, I will probably know my children and grandchildren's names perfectly, I will probably never own a fabric store, fly and own a plane, own and operate a ranch on 1800 acres of California Red Woods, be so very humble, or save lives in the E.R. BUT in little ways I am like him. I am a work horse, I love to walk, I love plants, I am super decisive, I love the Lord, I delight in jobs completed, I love real estate, I like reading text books and value education, and I will work my entire life doing the best I can to please my God and serve my family. My Dad helped give me those traits and I thank Heavenly Father for him.

Daddy, thanks for making time to visit with us while you had your medical meetings. I know sometimes you wonder if you did enough for all your 12 kids but I think you were the perfect dad for me. I have always appreciated you just the way you are. The kids keep telling me, "I like your Daddy!" :) I do too.