it's my dad's birthday, which means i got to write a birthday card to him and reflect on how grateful i am he was born-not only so he could bring about my birth, but because he is one of the best people i know. and i know a good amount of wonderful people.
i recently told my dad i wanted to write a best-selling novel and his suggestion was to write a knock off of "to kill a mockingbird," i.e. "to kill a hummingbird" or "to kill a chicken". just another one of his classic dad jokes...anyway, i think i could write a novel on how wonderful steven randall hatch is; however, i will confine it to this list.
1. he is the hardest working man i know!
i remember my grandma telling me she regretted making my dad take advanced courses at such a young age, watching him slave over homework late into the night as a little elementary schooler. that dedication stuck with him as he worked many jobs while excelling academically through graduate school. he told me about a science class at BYU where the professor began the course by stating only one student would get an "A" and i asked if he got it. he said no, he got an A-. even after he received his doctorate and had a nice job, dad still taught night classes at the local community college, so my mom could stay home with us during the days.
in addition to his devotion to academia and funding his way through school through assorted jobs, my dad also served a 2 year mission in sweden. he has volunteered many, many hours to our church in leadership positions and as a scout leader. so much of my dad's time is spent working to make others' lives better, namely his family.
dad is brilliant, and works as an executive at a major company...nevertheless, he prefers to do many jobs himself. for example, he built us a swing set and when we moved, one of the terms was that the swing set stay at the house for the new family who wanted it. he's built fences, fixed every appliance you can think of, designed and assembled furniture, landscaped entire yards, paints everything, fixes brakes and other car parts...basically, he can do it all and does do it all (i just can't list it all)! the three houses we've lived in all reflect his skills, and since this is a post dedicated to my father, i should insert a napoleon dynamite reference about skills here. i'm grateful that we were raised knowing the importance of learning to be self-sufficient and that dad taught by example.
growing up, i wanted to succeed because my dad was so successful and his pleasure and pride in my achievements was reward in itself. there were many late nights where dad was by my side in the family room helping me with my chemistry or math homework. he attended almost all of my soccer games and concerts and student council banquets and church functions-encouraging me to continue working harder to achieve my goals in all areas of my life. you could often find dad, when he wasn't working, doing a crossword, playing a beatles song on the piano, running/biking or...taking a nap-well-rounded, indeed!
2. my dad is kind and peaceful.
i don't have many memories of my dad yelling-he just is a very easy-going person. one would think only super intense, loud, type-a people rise to the tops of companies, but my dad's calm demeanor has served him well as he exudes patience, knowledge and reassurance. when i stayed with them last year, my dad's boss asked him to take care of an HR dispute where two men were being let go because it would be the nicest coming from my nice dad.
his kindness is also shown through his generosity-with time and money. my parents spend much of their time serving others. i can't think of a week in my life where my dad didn't spend part of his time sacrificing his time for church. he mows lawns, shovels driveways, helps families pack/move, and other manual labor :) i hope to one day to serve others like my parents. as for his children, my dad has made sure we have never gone without anything. my parents stun me with their generosity and willingness to give-you should really go shopping with them because they will buy you whatever you want!
one of my most treasured memories is my dad telling me how much he wishes he could be the one with the eye disease-how he wishes that he could lose his vision, instead of me. i think we both cried that night as i realized the true depth of his love for me. i think this is all i need to say about my dad to sum up the kind of man he is.
FAVORITE MEMORIES WITH DAD
-riding my barbie bike while he jogged next to me (occasionally stopping at dairy queen)
-playing with him at the park where he would spin us on the tire swing till we screamed
-swimming with him in hotel pools
-working out in high school and on college breaks with dad
-touring many, many museums with him (especially the science & industry and boeing)
-every single time i returned home from college and to this day, my dad telling me how proud he is of me and how much he loves me
-sitting on the steps in front of their new house, playing with the dog and telling him i was pregnant (before i told mom!)
-parasailing in texas, watching him get dunked in the water
-i always got to ride on the roller coasters with dad while erik had to sit with strangers :)
-having dad come to girls' camp with ice cream frozen rock solid from the dry ice he brougt from work...and with me at other girls' camp and youth conference activities
-when dad drove out to BYU with erik and i and he hugged me goodbye in my regency kitchen (he didn't get mad when i sort of shut the trunk on him earlier that day)
-giving dad back massages for a quarter
-interning at nalco...i got to drive to and from work with dad in the corvette every day for three moths, and occasionally have lunch with him. we got to talk a lot and one time, he took the time to unscrew the hot glass roof off because i wanted to enjoy the beautiful day
-eating indian and asian food together
-watching him hold levi in the recliner
