My dad taught me so much. He taught me to drink coffee black whether it was 10 degrees or 110 degrees -"It cools down the body," he would say. He taught me that you should never make decision about taking a sick-day until you've gotten out of bed and taken your shower -and you get a shower and shave every day. He taught me that if you didn't have time to exercise you just woke up earlier -4:15am every morning for him. He amazed me how he would stay dressed all day until bed-time, and wore a t-shirt under every shirt that he kept tucked in. I thought it odd that it was ok to watch news all day...but only if all your work was done...because you needed to know what the weather was for the next day. He taught me to never write, "If I'm not here this year, remember that I love you!" on the boxes of Christmas decorations you store for the following year -My mom still won't decorate for Christmas. He taught me to be respectful...his words were, "I didn't bring a son into this world to be a burden on anyone!" He taught me that it was honorable to work for the same company for 40 years, and to be married to the same women for the same length of time. He also taught me to deal with pain...I can remember him taking me to the funeral of my younger brother while my mom was still in the hospital -Rodney Eugene Jones only lived 5 days after birth.
So, my dad also taught me to work with my hands. He use to say, "Jack of all trades, master of none!" I'm pretty sure that he stole that quote. While trying to teach me, we would work together. We built garages, roofed houses, cut trees, built fences, and we worked on our cars. I hated working on cars! One day I remember telling him, "When I get old, I'm going to pay someone to work on my cars." At which time deddy pointed a wrench an inch from my nose and said in a voice I'm pretty sure I heard on The Exorcist, "I hope to %$#@ you can!" You ever wished you could have a do over?
Finally, my doxology....So you might can tell, I've thought a lot about my dad today. For the 2nd time this year, I've had water problems. I hate water problems like I hate working on cars! The line that feeds my house had to be replaced in January. However, today it was leaking again, and I had to redo the work that I had paid someone else to do. The reason "I could" is because, my dad taught me. In fact, he would have fixed it the first time instead of paying someone else. I can remember patching and patching the same washing machine over and over. We had a concrete picnic table beside the in-ground swimming pool that HE BUILT that he would never throw away because it was where we worked on the (you guessed it) washing machine. I am so thankful that my dad invested in my future by painfully working with me on the little things in life. But...I have a not-so-doxology that won't leave my thoughts.One thing that I feel like I didn't get from my dad...was his amazing patience. I look back at the times in my life that I needed my lip puffed...he knew just what to do and with the right timing. One time I had done something wrong (Not sure what), but deddy wrote on a piece of paper, "I Owe Tony One!" in huge letters and slid it behind the phone that hung on the kitchen wall. He never delivered, but his action was payment enough.
Lately, I feel like although I might be able to fix a water line, build a cabinet, cut up a tree, build a deck, or wire in some receptacles; where I fail is exercising the kind of patience like he had. About a month before my dad passed away he and I were talking. I remember feeling so convicted about the selfishness I exhibited while growing up, so I asked him if he could ever forgive me. He said, He already had...In fact, he said that he was proud of me. I want to be the whole man that my dad worked so hard to shape. I don't think we are released to be that man or woman unless we learn to forgive. I guess I have to admit...we all need a little help from our Father.
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