80 -- Again

Today, my father turns 80 years old.

There are too many things to thank my father for.  Now that I am a father myself, I realize that many of the things he did were done practically anonymously.  Much of what he did was done without any fanfare or crowing about it.  It was probably almost anonymous because it was done so consistently.  He went to work day after day to serve his neighbor (most of those work years as a trust officer), and to provide for his family.

I remember trips into what was then Security First National Bank.  He had a desk in a large room with probably 20 other employees.  The ceiling in that room was probably about 15 feet high.  I always thought it was really cool.  Eventually, he got his own office which, as I recall, was a glorified cubicle.  It might have been more private, but it was never as cool as that big room.

When the bank moved his job to Milwaukee but left him behind in Sheboygan, he tried his hand at jobs that he probably would rather not have held--insurance salesman, vacuum cleaner salesman, real estate salesman, and eventually employee at Sheboygan Paper Co.  But he did what he had to do to continue to be a provider.  Again, without fanfare (although his retirement came with some degree of jubilation).

I suppose the greatest service he provided over the years was Christian disciple--especially the discipline that meant we were going to be in church whenever there were church services.  Sunday mornings and Wednesdays in Advent and Lent were never optional.  It is just what we did.  And then he sent me to the Lutheran elementary school at Calvary, Sheboygan and later to Manitowoc Lutheran High School where we made the daily trip up and down I-43.  I don't know how nervous my parents got over us on the road every day, especially in winter.  But God was good.  The only damage I ever did to the car was in our drive way.  The other fender bender was when the car was parked and I was nowhere near it.  It is a relief when those things aren't your fault.

Anyway,  all those years of Christian discipline served my good both temporally and, by God's grace, eternally.  It even resulted in my continuing my Lutheran education through college and seminary so that I am a pastor today.

He also took us on really cool vacations.  We had a blast no matter where we went--whether to see the grandeur of the national parks in California or the legendary stories of "camping" on the gravel lot in Brush, Colorado where one could easily confuse the urinal with the sink.  The Germany trip was phenomenal, and I am glad that we finally got to go on it after years of dreaming about it.

Anyway, some stories are best re-told over ice cold beers in person.  I am hoping to do that again this summer, depending on what the schedule permits.  In the meantime, I will hoist one up for you later today.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Mom, my brother Paul, and Dad in Leipzig.

Dad and Mom in Heidelberg.

Mom & Dad with their children, Paul, me, and Kris, celebrating their 50th anniversary, summer 2014.

My parents with all their children and their spouses and grandchildren.

Sake's alive! She's 45!

          On February 13, my beloved wife, Laura, turned 45 years old.  That's 16 years we've been celebrating her 29th birthday.
          Actually, Laura does not get hung up on her age.  The kids tease her about being so old.  Of course, they also tease her about being so happy.  I only get teased about my hair line.  (Careful boys, that's your future, too!)
          I am so grateful to have the beautiful wife I have.  She is generally very happy, and I don't tease her for it.  I am thankful for it.  It is wonderful to have a wife who is genuinely pleased that I walk in the door each night.  She is incredibly supportive, though she is also wise enough to see when I need to be talked back in off the ledge.  We have spent our life laughing together, crying together, and just being together.  In fact, our dates these days have been more about being together, because sane people don't say that running errands is a date.  But I will take an evening of doing nothing together with Laura than doing just about anything with anyone else.
           This birthday marks for Laura the milestone that she has spent the majority of her life married to me.  I have to wait until 49 to hit the milestone of having more than half my life being married to her.
          Anyway, Laura, I hope that you are blessed with many more years, and that I am blessed with many more years with you.
          Happy birthday, Laura!  Love you!

80

Eighty.  That is how old my mother is today.

You'd never guess it based on how she looks and gets around.  Okay, now I think she sleeps in until perhaps 6:30 AM instead of all those 5:30 AM mornings from my younger days.  (Was it that early?  Who knows?  She was the only one up.)

I could not possibly sum up all the things she has done for me and my family over the years--laundry, meals, driving me to and from practices and games, clean up around the house, tending the garden, eventually getting a job as secretary for the water utility, parents' groups, etc....  Rarely do I recall a time when she said that something was going to be inconvenient for her.  It would probably make her tired to recall everything.  No wonder she always fell asleep when we put in a movie for the whole family to watch.

I teach my catechism class that they will never truly appreciate how much their parents have done for them until they are doing it for their own children.  After 20+ years of being a parent myself, I think I am starting to get some idea on how much both my parents have done for us.  It was usually taken for granted.  It isn't anymore.

For what it is worth, I think I can say I truly appreciate what they have done for me for all of those years.

Happy Birthday, Mom.