When I was growing up, my parents -each in a different way- taught me to pay attention to little things. “If you do a thing at all,” my Dad said, “do it thoroughly.” I was taught to leave any place I’d been, looking better than before I’d been there. That’s why on every camping trip, our campsite was cleaned before and after we’d inhabited it. Completely swept of leaves and rocks, down to bare dirt (mostly so’s the tent would sit flat), Dad set up the “perimeters” of our outdoor living space in a neat and orderly way. His outdoor kitchen was his pride & joy and no one but he did the cooking (and Mom never complained!) It was always my job to create a small, artful arrangement of wild flowers, leaves, or stacked stones for the center of our picnic table and it was left for whoever had the campsite after us. Dad was ahead of his time when it came to Earth Day. We’d go on walks to pick up trash and debris just to make the world a nicer place. If he were alive today, he’d have his name on one of those Adopt-a-Highway signs seen on every California highway. He also took the time to teach me the names and spelling of the trees, the flowers and birds we’d encounter along the way.
I can still be an annoying know-it-all in that way if I’m not careful.
7 comments:
First of all, I love the picture of you to the right of your blog posts.
Second, your Dad reminds me of my Grandfather.
My Grandfather used to take this pesky little kid on his cherished fishing trips. Do you know how many thousands of questions pesky little kids ask?! Grampy was always patient and answered each and every one of them.
He taught me how to fish. He taught me the names of all the flowers and trees. He taught me how to fillet a fish. He taught me how to be a good person. He said, no matter how small a job something seems, always do it well.
I love the wildflowers on the table. That's probably why I always have flowers on the table, even if I have to buy them this time of year. There were always flowers on the table growing up.
Thanks for reminding me of the beautiful memories.
Hugs!
Thanks Pam. The picture was recently taken in Morro Bay, CA, that's Morro Harbor and the famous Morro Rock behind me. I specifically instructed Mr. itsme to NOT place the rock on top of my head like a hat. He did pretty good although the picture is dark due to the shadowed balcony I'm on. Notice the glass of chardonnay in my hand.
My Dad also taught me to fish, fly fish. One of my favorite photos is of me about age 7-8, thigh-deep in the Big Sur River fly-fishing. I never caught anything but it was just me & Dad time.
I lost both of my parents in the month of January and it's always a bittersweet month. I'm working on something about my Mom too. I'm glad also to have the (mostly) happy memories.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Hugs back!
So sorry for your loss. It's nice to remember the good things.
But back to the Chardonnay. When I click on the your picture, I can see the glass clearly. Great pic!
It sounds like your dad taught you well! I wish all the other dads respected nature as much. I swear some campers must think a maid shows up after they leave. My wife is a picker-upper too, and that’s great, but I hate picking up after strangers, so camping with me usually involves a long hike far beyond the range of the average litterbug.
My Dad was just as careful about "take only pictures and leave only footprints." Thanks for the great memory tag. :-)
It’s ironic that you wrote your post on January 25th as it was on that same date 18 yrs ago that my own father passed away. He was a lovely man that you also knew as well.
With more happy memories of him than I can count of which some include you, not a day goes by where I feel I am without him as he is with me and always will be. I have no doubt that he watches over all of us from exactly where he is now. Are you kidding? He’s got the best seat in the house!
When a loved one passes, and once through the pain of it all, I find that there is comfort in believing that you will meet again. Till then, they watch from above, sending signals that only you know and can feel.
If you ask me, I think that’s kinda neat actually! ~:-)
KK,
I have many fond memories of your Dad, Michael. One of the best was when he commented on my pronunciation of the spanish word "Cabrillo" (as in our Jr High). Apparently I said it correctly "Kabreeeo" instead of "Kabrillo." I always remember that day with pride. And his car, wasn't it a Mailibu, and kinda lowered? I LOVED that car.
Not bad for a white girl, eh?
Randy,
Campers today are so much different than when I was growing up. Back in the day, you could leave your campsite the entire day and no one would bother your stuff. Nowadays you have to lock everything up before you even hike over to the bathroom - which they now charge 25 cents for 1 1/2 mins of water to shower. John Muir would be shocked & dismayed.
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