Happy Father's Day

My mom married my step-dad when I was eleven, and to me he was my dad. He passed away in 2008. I miss him. I'm surprised at how much I miss him. He was the dad who took us on family vacations. We would drive cross country to visit my grandparents. That's what family vacations were, visiting relatives for up to two weeks at a time, then driving back home. Dad also taught us to work by "finding" jobs for us to earn money. Several years in a row we had to deliver phone books to earn Christmas money. In the crisp October air we'd run door to door dropping of each book then run back to our station wagon to grab another armful. My parents (especially Dad) really ingrained in us the importance of giving service too. We had Stake farms that grew apples, and peaches and cherries. And at picking time my sister and brothers and I would be climbing up the tree to see who could get the furthest piece of fruit. I think we probably ate half as much as we picked. It's funny how we hated doing it at the time, but now I look back on it with fond memories. My mom passed away when I was 21. My dad lived alone, without her for the next 27 years. He was a good man and a good example of staying true to his word. Occasionally he was taken advantage of, because he was a man of his word. He also obeyed all of Heavenly Father's commandments. Yeah, I miss him. Happy Father's Day Dad.