I sometimes make the mistake of not honoring my parents and focusing on the little idiosyncrasies that irritate me. I wanted to mention just a few things that my father, Terrence Newport Spalding, has done for me.
As a child my Dad would take me to work with him. Sometimes even letting me skip school to spend the day with him. He let me climb all over F-16s, letting me help take panels off the wings that needed to be repaired. I would sit in the cockpit and pretend I was flying.
Growing up my dad very rarely missed a ball game or a track meet.
He has always been an example of a hard worker. He never misses work, and he's never late. In fact, he is usually a half an hour early to work everyday.
My father gave me priesthood blessings at the beginning of every school year, and continues to give me blessings.
He has always been an example of a good husband. He loves my Mom very much and is always trying to help and support her.
To this day I'm not sure he knows exactly what my degrees are in, :) But, he always supported me in my education.
We've never had to take our cars in to a mechanic because my dad is so good at figuring out what's wrong and fixing things himself.
My Dad has NEVER missed a triathlon I've competed in. There have been times when he wasn't sure he could make it, but he would always show up with camera in hand. He has followed me hundreds of miles as I trained for the Ironman. He even went all the way to St. George with me before the Ironman so I could train on the course.
My Dad is a good Grandpa to our children. He likes spending time with them, and especially loves teasing them.
Thanks for all you've done, and continue to do for me, Dad. I love you!!
Oh, and by the way, my degrees are a BS in Child and Family Studies and a Masters in Social Work :)
2 comments:
Wow Mark - that's really nice. I hope your Dad reads Amy's blog! Your dad is an amazing guy - full of energy and interested in so many things. And he doesn't just think about things, he does them! You have a lot of his good qualities.
That was awesome, Mark! Another thing about that Terry, is that he's always the photographer at all the birthday parties! Those pictures will be priceless later on down the road.
Post a Comment