Dad taught my three brothers, The Sister, and me many things about life during those seven magical years we spent growing up at 110 Flamingo Street. Some lessons we didn’t really understand until long after moving away.
He said, “The world has a way of teaching humility to you. I learned that lesson long before you were born and is something I’ve never forgotten.”
For Dad, his humility lesson came right after graduating from college. Newly married and with a four-year degree from a major university in hand, he went out to conquer the world.
Unfortunately, jobs were scarce. With their first child on the way, he folded up his degree and placed it (along with his pride) in his back pocket in order to take a job working for his brother selling bedspreads door to door.
That’s when he learned another of life’s important lessons that he passed on to us: “There’s no shame to be found in a hard day’s work. Shame only comes in not working hard.” And work hard he did.
He walked door to door, no matter the weather, selling household items. Family vacations were few and far between. Days off were just about nonexistent. Saving as much as he could, he finally bought a small house in desperate need of renovations.
He taught us another lesson with that purchase and the resulting four months of renovations: “Don’t ever be afraid to get your hands dirty.”
After a few years, he invested in another house, and then another. Ten houses, four apartment complexes, and 33 years later, he suddenly sold everything.
You see, a year earlier, Mom was laid to rest next to our oldest brother. Dad retired and moved to Florida – alone.
Sadly, with his move, he still taught us perhaps the most important life lesson of all: “You can have everything money can buy, but if you lose your health, you can end up with nothing at all.”
It took a while, in his state of grief, before Dad realized something else: he still had the love of his children.
My lesson in humility came when The Boy was placed in my arms for the very first time. The responsibility of children has a way of making you humble. It makes you realize we’re part of something much bigger than just ourselves. At least it did for me.
It was 25 years later when I saw that look again. But this time it was on The Boy’s face as his first daughter, Little One, was placed in his arms. He may never admit it, but humility washed over his face that day, and this was repeated less than a year later with the birth of his second daughter, Sweet Caroline.
With his pride and college degree in his back pocket, he leaves his family for the oil fields of North Dakota every two weeks. He’s a safety officer and medic. “It’s hard work, but I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. The temperature can be 40 below, but my family is depending on me.”
On this Father’s Day, there’s no better gift a father can receive than to hear the words of his father come back to him through his son. The Boy may never realize where they came from, but I do. I just hope to still be around when he hears those same words from his children.
[Rick Ryckeley, who lives in Senoia, served as a firefighter for more than two decades and has been a weekly columnist since 2001. His email is storiesbyrick@gmail.com. His books are available at www.RickRyckeley.com.]
