One of my favorite stories about my Dad was just his work ethic and stability, he was an extremely hard worker > wake up at 4am leave by 5:30am > back by 4pm hang out with us for a bit > go outside build stuff or lawn stuff > have dinner > read the paper, smoke a cigarette > shower > then repeat the day, on the weekends he would work almost a full day but he really didn’t watch tv, he used to try to instill that work ethic in me at an early age around 5-6 years old but I was extremely spoiled by my Mom so I would get out of a lot of stuff my older brothers would have to do.
He still would try though but I was very much my own person eventually I think he realized that there was no changing my ways and he started embracing my artistic side that I was so drawn to. That was when he would call me in front of all his friends to show me off to do portraits of them and start buying me paints, materials and allow me to be in my own world etc…
Looking back I think he taught me the value of having a great work ethic, and routine which I try to live by to this day. So in a round about way he did accomplish it. Because back than no matter how mundane my Father might’ve appeared to us it was always progress moving forward and stability that everyone was dependent on to do great things inside/out of the family and I gotta say that’s a hallmark of a great Dad.
To me as a child, my father was the smartest person in the world—all because he was brilliant at mental math and always got the answers right on TV quiz shows. He encouraged me to study and always be ready to absorb knowledge. Today, I do as he did, and I see that we’re just normal people enjoying silly TV entertainment... yet through our children’s eyes, we’re superheroes.
I've mentioned it before, but my dad was an enormously impactful teacher. He intentionally took a position in the worst middle school in the city near where we lived, because that's where kids needed the most help. He had to deal with some truly horrific stuff there, and he found lots of ways to get involved in difficult situations to help his students.
I've had so many encounters with people around town who ask if I'm related to him and want to share how big of a difference he made for them.
My dad isn't a person who gets appreciation for being a good dad. However I don't blame him for anything that I and my siblings been through in our childhood. I believe if that wasn't the case, we wouldn't strive enough.
Since you've asked what's my favourite thing about him, I'd say generosity, punctuality and friendliness are his best things.
My dad used to be a triathlete, so he always wanted his kids to do the same. He wanted us to be runners. I remember him taking me to the track and jogging with me, we would run until even the dog gave up and watched us from the center. When I wanted to quit he would keep saying "mind over matter" and stopped me from quitting. It was a bit psychotic, but I can push through some serious discomfort these days if I want to. I still hate cardio though.
Sorry, dark humor. A close friend just told me his dad did.
Seriously, I appreciate everything he did for me. How he just worked hard to provide for me and my siblings. Didn't talk much, but we knew he had and still has our back.
My dad has always worked very hard, and imo, sometimes unproductively, like hardness for hardness's sake. He's finally retired this year after almost 50 years of continuous, blue collar shift work. And still, he was ashamed to retire, like it meant he was lazy, like it meant he wasn't giving back to the world anymore.
My dad especially but both my parents are exceptionally generous despite not having much and their generosity often causing meaningful sacrifice. It was a great lesson to me how much you can sacrifice and somehow still be more for it (if you don't let yourself sour over it).
But my favorite thing about my dad was how creative, handy, and self-sufficient he was. It was likely something he picked up from his dad, my grandfather, who everyone called The Engineer despite him not being a credentialed one. My dad did as much as he could of anything - car repairs, home repairs, building and crafting random things, whatever. Even this last year he broke his leg replacing his water heater - alone, not having done it before - after it fell on him. He taught me that you can just do shit.
I also wanted to appreciate my father in law, who died this week, and is causing me to gush like this I think.
I didn't spend a lot of time with him. He liked to imply that I was alcoholic, because when we'd visit I'd always have a couple beers (and sometimes more), and he knew my family's history. He also thought I was a drug dealer, because I worked from home and made a lot of money, and at the time, smoked a lot of weed. I didn't mind though. It was par for the course.
My favorite thing about my father in law was how much he loved his family, and I don't mean he said it a lot. I mean that he viewed his family as his life's greatest achievement. He worshiped it like one of those old movies where a man drinks a love potion. Anytime we'd visit, he'd start hunting through their digital photos, reminiscing about everything they'd done together. I've never met a father who was so proud, so transfixed, and eager to indulge in the wholeness of his family.
My dad’s always trying to teach me something, used to annoy me when I was younger, but now I see it’s just his way of showing he cares. I find it kinda precious now, and I hate that he’s getting old, and that I’ve gotten old enough to realize it. Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there.
Connecting people. He would support local business, join various social groups, just to support them. He would often volunteer time to help with whatever these people needed. He would rarely pick sides and instead always try to explain why the other side wasn't completely wrong.
I used to think that he was just doing things for others without having strong opinion on anything... but later I realized that he became so respected in the community that he would often be the only person that all sides of an argument were willing to talk to, and as a result he had more influence than the opinionated people fighting for their causes.
Since you've asked what's my favourite thing about him, I'd say generosity, punctuality and friendliness are his best things.