Who's Your Daddy ?

My father, Gerald H Case (Jerry to anyone who knows him personally), is an amazing man.  He is not perfect, which he readily admits, but he's very, very good at certain things and is willing to share that knowledge with anyone willing to listen to him.

I've decided that for Father's Day today, instead of listing off tons of different things my father is good at, I wanted to share two examples of things he has taught me.

First, the concept of Let It Go or L.I.G. for short.  Growing up, I often got upset over many things.  My dad has his own temper to account for and I think he wisely recognized that I could be better at controlling my emotions if I started earlier.  He (and my mom) often asked me "will this matter in 10 years?"  If the answer was "No" then I was told to L.I.G.  Little did my father know that those simple words have literally changed my whole outlook on life.  I am NOT burdened by trivial things, which allows me to smile a lot more and enjoy life more fully.  I only hope my children can learn the lesson as well as my dad taught it to me.

Second, you can always teach others, even if it is years later before they truly learn what you've been trying to teach them.  Every single one of my seven children has spent serious quality time in a cradle that I handmade with my father.  I say "with" in a very loose sense, because he did 99% of the truly difficult work.  But he taught me as we went and gave me assignments that were within my ability to complete.  We spent countless hours on the project, over several months.  At the time, I had little appreciation for his sacrifice of time.  But with every child that has been placed in that extremely well-made cradle, I have reflected back on that experience together.  We used wood we had available, but we took steps to ensure it would last for several lifetimes.  And it has.  It is a cherished keepsake, and I have very few of these in my life, which I plan to pass on to one of my children.

L-R: Jerry, Josh Jr, Jordan, Ben (behind the flag), and Me
Another thing my dad taught me was a love of sports!  :)

Thanks so much dad for these and many other lessons you've patiently (for the most part) taught me over the years.  I hope I've lived up to your hopes of me.


Song Of The Day:
I remember my dad telling me about a song he heard that he loved, as though I had never heard of it before.  He often mentions things he thinks will be new to me, but I've known about them for a while.  I almost always just humor him.  Today's song "As Good As I Once Was" by Tobey Keith, quickly became my dad's mantra for many things in life.  Now that I am getting a little older myself, I appreciate the message behind that song on a different level.  Just like I appreciate wisdom from my father in a better way now than I did when I was younger and knew everything.

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