Dad, Our journey, as with any journey we embark upon, has had many twists and turns.
Fathers and their children are thrown together in a moment, with no “How To” manual and are tasked with figuring it out along the way.
We had our fair share of bumps in the road, disappointments and low moments and as with any relationship we made our way forward the best we knew how in the moment.
Dad, You always did what you could with what you knew when faced with overwhelming things.
The path of healing was brought close in the recounting of the bumps in the road.
And in the recounting of the good times and the shared experiences that brought smiles to our faces, I am reminded that our journeys were never meant to be all one or the other. The two can dwell together in the same space.
So we learn, we heal, we grow, we write our story and no good story is complete without the challenges and the victories, with out the highs and the lows. And hopefully from one generation to the next we carry forward all that was good and help the next generation be better equipped for their story and journey – this is what I carry forward.
The things I learned from you.
From you I learned:
*Jesus is worth it all
*That hard work is necessary and worth the outcome and it never hurt anyone to do it
*That a life well lived is one lived by faith, the best we know how
*Pigs can’t swim in buckets (oh the stories we have…)
*Cats do have 9 lives – Buffy
*Best to leave the neutering of animals to the professionals (our poor goat)
*Roosters have spurs and they hurt (“don’t wear your shorts when feeding the animals..”)
*Cadillacs are not all luxury cars
*Red coats can be warm if you wear them (I hated that coat…)
*Exposed insulation makes great ceiling decor (a house under constant constructions)
*Whistling is easy if you practice
*If you fall off the horse, get back on, except for the last time…
*Old cars, old motorcycles, old tractors can run forever – who needs new ones
*Cutting hay by hand is good for your character
*Growing your own food and meat is worth it when you finally get to enjoy the fruit of your labors
*Crawling under houses with spiders is part of the job
*Climbing up to the 2nd story roof in a thunder and rain storm, to fix the tv antenna is worth it, so we could watch the show we wanted
*Santa visits some houses on Christmas Eve while we are at pizza
*That you believed my 10 year old self was more capable than I thought – when you asked me to hold the rope attached to you while you crawled under a restaurant with standing sewer – and told me to pull you out if you passed out from the sewer gases
*That cleaning a toilet involved more than just flushing it
*That people are worth my time – you never know what happen if you give them more than the time of day
You and mom were present at so many of the important moments in my life: The day I chose to become a follower of Jesus – and I have never turned back, the day I was baptized, my wedding, the birth of our children and so many moments along the way. I am so grateful!
Because we have talked, I know there are things you wished would have been different and there were things you wished you could do over. I also know you loved us.
Today, we close the final moment in our story here on this earth and I know we will see you again with Jesus and all the tears and brokenness we carry in this world will be gone.
I love you, Dad.
Passing from this realm to the next – your address has changed to a better place – I hope you are loving your log house in heaven, that your son, our brother is with you and that Isaac your sweet dog is by your side.
I am grateful that our God takes everything in our life – all the good, all the difficult, all the pain, all we walk through and turns it for our good. That is the story of me and my dad. Now we get to carry forward my dads faith and his prayers and the blessings he declared over our family.
Until we see you again…
In loving memory of my Dad – Ron Hukill and his earth side journey 1948 – 2023