Good morning!!
December 11th, 2021. 5:37…
I woke this morning thinking about my dad…
For today is his birthday. His 81st…
My dad is a good man.
He is honest. Hard working. Loyal…
Dad is far from perfect. Certainly all of us are…
But his imperfection, especially in his younger years, is what makes my Dad’s story so inspirational to me…
Dad was raised on a farm, in a little town in Central Illinois named Ivesdale…
Dad was born in 1940. A simpler time for sure. But a hard time…
America was just getting out of the depression, and on the date of his birth, we were less than a year from entering World War II…
Dad had two parents, Joe and Norma Tracy. To me, they were Grampa Joe and Gaga. He also had two brothers, John and Bob…
Growing up on a farm in 1940, Dad and his brothers learned early that life was about hard work. Life on a farm is often that way, I imagine…
School was important too, and good grades were certainly a must…
He and his brothers enjoyed playing sports, and being kids of course…
But at that time, and certainly in this family, Dad learned that kids were meant to be seen and not heard…
The days were long, and the joyous, silly times were probably few and far between…
Emotions were kept at a minimum. Men were hard back then, and my guess is Grandpa Joe was probably pretty hard on his sons…
So that is how Dad was raised. And in many ways, that is how he raised us…
Stern. And certainly, if love was expressed, it was expressed in a very subtle fashion. A subtle fashion that to this day I am yet to understand…
Somewhere along the line, however, my dad learned that things could be different. That he could be different. That he could be better…
He began to smile more. Be silly on occasion. Enjoy deeper, more personal conversations…
Enjoy time spent with his third son…
I am sure having grandkids had a big impact on my dad. He also took great care of Mom, as she struggled with Alzheimers for the last 10 years of her life…
So he started changing. Slowly, for change usually takes time…
But change he did.
He became more outwardly loving. He still struggles expressing emotion, and for him to say “I love you” is quite rare…
But he shows it in his way. Not always the way I hope for, but he is trying…
For he realizes that he is a work in progress, and does his best to be a better man every day.
He chooses to smile more. To listen better. To understand others in a deeper way. To show his love…
So today, as I drive out to Roscoe Illinois to celebrate Dad’s birthday, I will be thinking of my father…
And how he inspires me. For I too am a work in progress…
I can be a better man, just like my dad.
Ken
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