Sadie loves it when I tell her stories; especially the ones about Grandpa. Of course I have dramatized them a bit and switched things around for effect, but every time I tell her these stories it makes me love Dad even more. One of my fondest memories of my Dad is when I was an over-emotional (still am) teenager and after getting in a fight with Nick (this was a usual occurrence in our home) I ran to my room and locked the door behind me as I threw myself on the bed in tears. I felt the longer I stayed in there and felt sorry for myself the better. After a few minutes I heard a subtle knock on the door. Thinking it was Nick for some additional older brother taunting I screamed "go away" at the top of my lungs. I then heard the sweet voice of Dad asking if he could come in and give me a hug. I was in the depths of despair that day and wanted to feel sorry for myself as long as possible. Through muffled tears I told him I wanted to be alone (when in reality what I REALLY wanted was a big hug from my Dad....wallowing just felt too good at the moment to admit it:-). Dad continued to coax me into opening the door and I continued to deny all proposals. It wasn't until about a half an hour later that I heard a bang at my window and saw two wooden slats appear. It was a ladder! Before I could stop him Dad climbed up the ladder, opened my window and gave me the biggest hug I had ever received in my whole life. I felt warm, safe, and most of all LOVED. He made me feel that the most important thing to him that day was to give me a hug no matter what!! That day he was my knight in shining armour.
Another favorite Grandpa story occurred while I was working as an intern in Washington D.C. I had flown home to see Nick come home from his mission and attend his homecoming. It was a great trip and when the weekend was over, it was time for me to head back to D.C. to finish up the semester. Dad took me to the airport. This was the year 2000 and airport security allowed anyone who had gone through security to see their loved ones off at their gate. This occasion was usually only reserved to see a missionary off. I said goodbye to my Dad at the ticket counter and headed up the stairs to go through security. As I approached my gate there was a HUGE family there saying goodbye to one of those such missionaries. Seeing their grief and sadness completely overwhelmed me because I thought of how hard it is to part from one's family for even a short amount of time. It was at that time as I sat mourning with strangers (who was this weird girl?) that I felt a tap on my shoulder and there was Dad. He decided to give me a proper send off after all. It was perfect timing and he must have known how sad I was. I like to think he had a "Hazel's Mother" moment who on the other side of town something told her Hazel needed her (gotta love that Rosemary Wells). Although I didn't know it at the time something told Dad that Abby needed him. He held me and gave me a big hug again telling me how much I would be missed and again I felt LOVED.
With four daughters Dad has had no choice but to be a HUGE advocate to women. I think if he had lived in the time of women's suffrage, he would have walked right along side Susan B. Anthony. Being the Scout Master for several years, he was always taking the boys out on long weekend excursions. I was so jealous!! He raised me to be a little liberal and I felt that us girls should be able to go along as well. Why couldn't we be Eagle Scouts?! Dad always made up for it taking us girls backpacking all over the place from Hogan Fork, to Zions National park, or even a small hike up Millcreek canyon. The hike up was usually pretty tiresome but we never dared complain. Being the most strong and swift was the highest compliment you could get from Dad, for hiking was and is his favorite activity. We usually scared all wild life away while singing "The Hills are Alive" from the Sound of Music at the top our our lungs. And every time we saw a meadow, we'd sing the "dum dum da da" from the closing credits of Little House on the Prairie while running down the hill as Laura Ingles did.
Dad loved to serenade us with the Snow White version of "I'm Wishing" and it always got us laughing. Those were the happiest of times. Just hanging out with Dad in the great outdoors. We were definitely "daddy's little girls" and he made each and every one of us feel like we were his favorite. I know that more than anything all he would like for Father's Day is another trip down to Zions with his kids. Dad, nothing would make me happier.
Dad is totally against all forms of makeup. If we ever dared to apply even a touch of mascara or lip "goo" (as he called it) we were called "painted lady" over and over again. You had to have thick skin in the Etherington home because this teasing never really had an affect on us. Although we girls try to go as natural as possible, you'll still catch a little "paint" from time to time. I'll never forget this one time after Emily had returned home from her mission. He pulled me aside and in a voice of desperation he said "I need to tell you something." I was a little worried thinking that something terrible had happened. I geared myself up for the worst when he continued with "you need to talk to Emily about her mascara. She has so much on she could have two black eyes." Typical Dad moment. He hated make up more than he hated wearing a tie to church. It was of the upmost importance to get Emily "back to normal" since she had so recently returned from the tainted "mascara clad" country of Uruguay. To Dad we were his gorgeous "duchesses." He made us feel beautiful when we felt the ugliest (usually right when we woke up in the tent with matted down hair that smelled of a musty campfire).
When we were little it must have been a huge struggle to get us to clean our rooms. Dad made this fun by turning into General Juddopp (I think that was his name). After giving us about an hour (it usually took us longer...they were really messy rooms) he put his old army helmet on and we prepared to meet our General as we heard his rhythmic stomping coming up the stairs. We stood at attention and saluted as he "inspected" our rooms. While yelling out demands and criticizing our poor excuse for "clean" we always held back the giggles. It was definitely Mary Poppins' way of a little "sugar to help the medicine go down." Although the clothes weren't put away with a simple snap of the fingers, cleaning our rooms was never so much fun!!
When President Hinckley made the statement that girls were not encouraged to go on missions, my Dad took the statement really hard. It was especially trying because his oldest child, who was also his first daughter, was currently serving her mission at that time. I don't want to say Dad was angry at the prophet for saying this but felt that his girls were every bit as equal to his son, and with that they needed the spiritual and emotional growth that a mission provides just as much as an Elder. From that time forth he was determined to encourage all of us children whenever possible to serve a mission of our own. I always knew that if I decided to serve, my parents would be behind me 110%. When it was finally my turn to enter the MTC I was again overwhelmed with sadness. How could I possibly be away from my family for 18 months and handle all the rejection that I knew Spain would provide. While the entire room sang called to serve I looked around at the other faces in the room. Everyone was so happy. They were all singing with such vigor and excitement. At that moment, I wondered"who are these people. Aren't they sad?" I then turned and looked at my Dad who was sitting next to me and said "I want to go home." Dad could see the alarm on my face and said "you are going to be just fine." After saying goodbye to Chase that morning and my parents that afternoon, I was emotionally spent. But Dad was right. I knew he believed in me as did the rest of my family. As soon as I forgot myself and took advantage of the amazing opportunity for growth, I was better than "fine", I was happy and again I felt loved.
Dad will never know the profound influence he's had over all our lives. He was the one I went to in the middle of the night when the nightmares awakened a disturbing sleep. He rubbed my back when I was sick. He held me when I was sad. He blessed me when I felt discomfort. He cheered for me when I explored. He taught me to love challenges and try to find the growth within. He encouraged greatness and courage. He taught by example the importance of obtaining knowledge. He was my most devout writer on my mission. I scoured over his words almost like scriptures seeking wisdom from a man that had always been my main source. Dad has ALWAYS been there for me.
He continues to be there for our children. No one can compete with Grandpa. Some sons-in-law are offended when their kids choose Grandpa over them, but who wouldn't? It's Grandpa! Quite possibly the most engaging, loving, caring, considerate,and dependable Dad in the world. Perhaps I'm biased but I'm convinced I got the best one.
Sadie loves it when I tell her stories; especially the ones about Grandpa. Of course I have dramatized them a bit and switched things around for effect, but every time I tell her these stories it makes me love Dad even more. One of my fondest memories of my Dad is when I was an over-emotional (still am) teenager and after getting in a fight with Nick (this was a usual occurrence in our home) I ran to my room and locked the door behind me as I threw myself on the bed in tears. I felt the longer I stayed in there and felt sorry for myself the better. After a few minutes I heard a subtle knock on the door. Thinking it was Nick for some additional older brother taunting I screamed "go away" at the top of my lungs. I then heard the sweet voice of Dad asking if he could come in and give me a hug. I was in the depths of despair that day and wanted to feel sorry for myself as long as possible. Through muffled tears I told him I wanted to be alone (when in reality what I REALLY wanted was a big hug from my Dad....wallowing just felt too good at the moment to admit it:-). Dad continued to coax me into opening the door and I continued to deny all proposals. It wasn't until about a half an hour later that I heard a bang at my window and saw two wooden slats appear. It was a ladder! Before I could stop him Dad climbed up the ladder, opened my window and gave me the biggest hug I had ever received in my whole life. I felt warm, safe, and most of all LOVED. He made me feel that the most important thing to him that day was to give me a hug no matter what!! That day he was my knight in shining armour.
Another favorite Grandpa story occurred while I was working as an intern in Washington D.C. I had flown home to see Nick come home from his mission and attend his homecoming. It was a great trip and when the weekend was over, it was time for me to head back to D.C. to finish up the semester. Dad took me to the airport. This was the year 2000 and airport security allowed anyone who had gone through security to see their loved ones off at their gate. This occasion was usually only reserved to see a missionary off. I said goodbye to my Dad at the ticket counter and headed up the stairs to go through security. As I approached my gate there was a HUGE family there saying goodbye to one of those such missionaries. Seeing their grief and sadness completely overwhelmed me because I thought of how hard it is to part from one's family for even a short amount of time. It was at that time as I sat mourning with strangers (who was this weird girl?) that I felt a tap on my shoulder and there was Dad. He decided to give me a proper send off after all. It was perfect timing and he must have known how sad I was. I like to think he had a "Hazel's Mother" moment who on the other side of town something told her Hazel needed her (gotta love that Rosemary Wells). Although I didn't know it at the time something told Dad that Abby needed him. He held me and gave me a big hug again telling me how much I would be missed and again I felt LOVED.
With four daughters Dad has had no choice but to be a HUGE advocate to women. I think if he had lived in the time of women's suffrage, he would have walked right along side Susan B. Anthony. Being the Scout Master for several years, he was always taking the boys out on long weekend excursions. I was so jealous!! He raised me to be a little liberal and I felt that us girls should be able to go along as well. Why couldn't we be Eagle Scouts?! Dad always made up for it taking us girls backpacking all over the place from Hogan Fork, to Zions National park, or even a small hike up Millcreek canyon. The hike up was usually pretty tiresome but we never dared complain. Being the most strong and swift was the highest compliment you could get from Dad, for hiking was and is his favorite activity. We usually scared all wild life away while singing "The Hills are Alive" from the Sound of Music at the top our our lungs. And every time we saw a meadow, we'd sing the "dum dum da da" from the closing credits of Little House on the Prairie while running down the hill as Laura Ingles did.
Dad loved to serenade us with the Snow White version of "I'm Wishing" and it always got us laughing. Those were the happiest of times. Just hanging out with Dad in the great outdoors. We were definitely "daddy's little girls" and he made each and every one of us feel like we were his favorite. I know that more than anything all he would like for Father's Day is another trip down to Zions with his kids. Dad, nothing would make me happier.
Dad is totally against all forms of makeup. If we ever dared to apply even a touch of mascara or lip "goo" (as he called it) we were called "painted lady" over and over again. You had to have thick skin in the Etherington home because this teasing never really had an affect on us. Although we girls try to go as natural as possible, you'll still catch a little "paint" from time to time. I'll never forget this one time after Emily had returned home from her mission. He pulled me aside and in a voice of desperation he said "I need to tell you something." I was a little worried thinking that something terrible had happened. I geared myself up for the worst when he continued with "you need to talk to Emily about her mascara. She has so much on she could have two black eyes." Typical Dad moment. He hated make up more than he hated wearing a tie to church. It was of the upmost importance to get Emily "back to normal" since she had so recently returned from the tainted "mascara clad" country of Uruguay. To Dad we were his gorgeous "duchesses." He made us feel beautiful when we felt the ugliest (usually right when we woke up in the tent with matted down hair that smelled of a musty campfire).
When we were little it must have been a huge struggle to get us to clean our rooms. Dad made this fun by turning into General Juddopp (I think that was his name). After giving us about an hour (it usually took us longer...they were really messy rooms) he put his old army helmet on and we prepared to meet our General as we heard his rhythmic stomping coming up the stairs. We stood at attention and saluted as he "inspected" our rooms. While yelling out demands and criticizing our poor excuse for "clean" we always held back the giggles. It was definitely Mary Poppins' way of a little "sugar to help the medicine go down." Although the clothes weren't put away with a simple snap of the fingers, cleaning our rooms was never so much fun!!
When President Hinckley made the statement that girls were not encouraged to go on missions, my Dad took the statement really hard. It was especially trying because his oldest child, who was also his first daughter, was currently serving her mission at that time. I don't want to say Dad was angry at the prophet for saying this but felt that his girls were every bit as equal to his son, and with that they needed the spiritual and emotional growth that a mission provides just as much as an Elder. From that time forth he was determined to encourage all of us children whenever possible to serve a mission of our own. I always knew that if I decided to serve, my parents would be behind me 110%. When it was finally my turn to enter the MTC I was again overwhelmed with sadness. How could I possibly be away from my family for 18 months and handle all the rejection that I knew Spain would provide. While the entire room sang called to serve I looked around at the other faces in the room. Everyone was so happy. They were all singing with such vigor and excitement. At that moment, I wondered"who are these people. Aren't they sad?" I then turned and looked at my Dad who was sitting next to me and said "I want to go home." Dad could see the alarm on my face and said "you are going to be just fine." After saying goodbye to Chase that morning and my parents that afternoon, I was emotionally spent. But Dad was right. I knew he believed in me as did the rest of my family. As soon as I forgot myself and took advantage of the amazing opportunity for growth, I was better than "fine", I was happy and again I felt loved.
Dad will never know the profound influence he's had over all our lives. He was the one I went to in the middle of the night when the nightmares awakened a disturbing sleep. He rubbed my back when I was sick. He held me when I was sad. He blessed me when I felt discomfort. He cheered for me when I explored. He taught me to love challenges and try to find the growth within. He encouraged greatness and courage. He taught by example the importance of obtaining knowledge. He was my most devout writer on my mission. I scoured over his words almost like scriptures seeking wisdom from a man that had always been my main source. Dad has ALWAYS been there for me. 
He continues to be there for our children. No one can compete with Grandpa. Some sons-in-law are offended when their kids choose Grandpa over them, but who wouldn't? It's Grandpa! Quite possibly the most engaging, loving, caring, considerate,and dependable Dad in the world. Perhaps I'm biased but I'm convinced I got the best one.
4 comments:
I can't even explain how hard I'm crying. Maybe it's because you PERFECTLY captured your sweet father and it has such strong memories of my childhood. Craig is the best dad and always took so much time, love, and effort to teach his little family good things. I remember him teaching me how to properly brush a doll's hair so I wouldn't rip it out. I remember him using his silly voice to make us laugh, and I remember when my family was going through a rough time feeling really safe sleeping over at your house. I think so much of who I am is attributed to your family and I'm so thankful to Craig and Diane for that. He even brought me my love of only "PBS" shows...such as our beloved Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. Oh...Craig! Such a cute guy and such a great dad and grandpa! Love the post Abbs. And, I LOVE Jack's adorable year bday photos! What a fast year and how adorable is he???? Oh my goodness! I just love him!
Kim, your comment just made me cry. I can't run into your parents with out breaking down. I just love them so much!! Sometimes I wish we were just kids again:-)
Snabby; I loved your Father's Day blog. You were very generous and kind to your old man. By the way, it was General Judo- Chop who came around to inspect your rooms, and if you did an unsatisfactory job cleaning your room you got a fake judo chop with sound effects. Those were some of the happiest and most memorable times for me. I will always cherish them. Thanks for remembering. i love you! Dad p.s. I love Sadie, Jack snd Chase too
That is the sweetest story about your Dad climbing up to your window. That made me want to laugh and cry!
Love all the pics! I CANNOT believe Jack is 1, holy cow! I kid you not, it feels like yesterday that I was on my way to your home so that you could go deliver that sweet boy.
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