My Dad forbade me to marry a "Stupid Yankee"

“Ever wonder why some of us melt over tall, dark and handsome while others get weak in the knees for a Hercules-built blond? In a recent study, researchers found that women tend to be drawn to men with a genetic makeup similar to that of their own family.” (Source: Biology Letters Journal)

My Dad never yelled at us. I can’t remember him raising his voice ever. He never spanked us. He was a very gentle man. He was kind and good. But the thing I loved most about him was his innocence.

He loved trees. He planted them all over the yard. He loved to look at them and listen to them. Smell them. And hear the birds chirping inside of them.

I’ll never forget our Yorkshire Terrier, Max, who loved Dad so much. He was the family dog, right? No, he was Dad’s dog. As soon as Dad walked into the door, Max followed him everywhere he went. I was young and I’d pick up Max and take him with me…but as soon as I’d put him down, he’d find Dad again. Only a truly good man can have that kind of love for…and from…a tiny dog.

Dad found joy in simple things. One day he picked the perfect tomato off of his own vine in the backyard. The tomato sat proudly on the kitchen table for a while and Dad showed it to everyone. He ate it for lunch, slicing it into pieces with his pocket knife and sprinkling a bit of salt of each piece.

One day my brother asked Dad what his idea of Heaven was. Dad thought for a second and said, “A small house with a yard. A cow, a pig, a goat and some chickens. And your mother inside cooking something for me.” A beautiful, uncomplicated simplicity: that is Heaven.

Dad liked to sit on the porch in the evenings, listen to the world and feel the warmth of the sun as it set. Once I was sitting next to him…we didn’t talk a lot. We’d just sit. The birds were chirping in the quaking aspens and the tiny brown and black chickadees would hop down into the bird bath in the shade. He turned to me, holding out his hand with his index finger extended and said, “I wish a little bird would come sit on my finger and be my friend.” That sentence perfectly sums up everything I love about my Dad.

I miss him. I miss him very much.

They say that we’re attracted to those that remind us of our family. So does this help you see why I love you?