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My dad provided life experiences

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My dad provided life experiences for us. Fabulous life experiences that brought joy and learning. I think he was dedicated and thoughtful in this process because he knew it would instill the values that were important to him.

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•Skiing~

At eight years old we all had the opportunity to have special one on one time with my dad, who taught us to ski. He was a... if you don’t carry your own skis, you don’t ski...type of guy. I grew to love this about him! It’s good to be a little tough:) My dad was good with the instructions and he knew when to just let us learn from experiencing.

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•Running~

In high school my dad and I had some special time together running in the early morning before the sun came up..probably 5:30am.  He’d come to the bottom of my bed, shake my toes and say "Come on...let’s go. Get your shoes on!" He made it sound fun and it was...and we felt great for the day.

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•Provided my sis Teri and I with the gift of having a horse~
My dad thought he might be a veterinarian at one time. He enjoyed animals.

This was a unique experience of mixing the delicate balance of friendship and being the boss. We learned a lot of responsibility, making sure they were taken care of every night and of course cleaning the corral every Saturday. I often still think of the complete joy that riding in avocado grooves gave me! The best of times.. riding with my riding mate Ann Taylor.

• My father provided me and my siblings more experiences at the pool,
at Hacienda Country Club~

Being on the swim team was a valuable experience that I’m not sure if my dad knew the great thing I got out of this. When I thought that I could barely take another breath..our tough coach told us to do four more laps...and so we did it. Who knew the power of thought!

•Cabin~

For anyone who knows my family..starting the tradition with my great grandparents, we have been experiencing summers in Island Park forever...in fact I’ve never missed a year. My Nana and Gandpa provided the first main family cabin, which was full of wonderful experiences. My father, falling In love with the area himself, followed the tradition and provided a family cabin that could fit our growing family. This brought so many beautiful family memories for all of us..which carried over into our children’s lives and even great grandkids now. We all have that bond together.

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•Music experiences~

My father often had one of four gendra’s playing in the House. This provided me a calming happy atmosphere. He even brought me home an Alvin and the chipmunks album when I was 8. I LOVED THAT! I think it’s fair to say his favorite was country. He gave me a love for music.He played the harmonica especially well ...I could never really convince him how good he was. And how good his voice was, it was very Johnny Cash like.

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• Poetry and stories experiences ~

It really was interesting to hear my dad recite poems, which he learned in school as a kid.He told a lot of stories that brought to life..other peoples experiences within these poems and life stories.

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Going forward I will remember to and advocate for others to put down the cell phone or whatever is appropriate to take a break from....and go experience in his memory.

Lastly  it should be said, my dad‘s dedication to God, family and Country were very important. And his tremendous love for my mom. Through these important commitments, they both built a strong family unit in which all felt loved and special. They cleverly balanced rules with a free atmosphere to provide a special place to experience life~

We will all miss my father.

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