My dad is an engineer. For years, he designed things related to machines that make paper. If you ever asked him about it, he would pull out a paper and pencil and sometimes actual blueprints to explain his latest project. But, he's also very practical and fixes things. I always remember my grandmother telling me how he took apart their vacuum as a child. She thought it would never work again, but he fixed it and put it back together. I have called him countless times with a problem and he has shown up with his tools. One time when our freezer parts were all laying out on the kitchen table, I had my doubts, but like usual, he fixed the problem. It's no wonder then that when faced with a problem, (I) Keep Calm and Call Dad.
My dad is also a man of God. We have had many, many discussions about the Bible and faith. He has read his Bible a lot and thought about things and I respect his opinion. Sometimes, we disagree on the secondary issues, but I still respect his opinion and that he has formed it based on study; he knows his Bible amazingly well.
My dad is a man of integrity. His word is true. He is not perfect, but his heart is always for truth and justice and doing the right thing. This has sometimes gotten him into trouble because people don't always want to hear the truth and he makes no bones about it. But, you always know where you stand with my dad.
My dad is musical and loves good music. Good music to him means mostly classical and hymns. He plays the trumpet and trombone and was a conductor for years. For the last few years, he has played with the Jubilee (Salvation Army) brass band. His love of music naturally meant that all of his kids were "forced" to learn to play an instrument. I played the piano and ironically, it was my dad who helped me with my piano lessons. My mom is the pianist, but she had no patience for listening to the "practice phase" of a song, lol. My dad doesn't really play the piano, but since he can read music and knows the basics of piano, he was the one to help me. In fact, he doesn't play the violin either, but when my siblings took up violin, he would help them too and even play along with them. They didn't figure out til much later that he didn't actually know how to play. My dad says, "I didn't have the talent, but I had the patience", lol.
My dad is self sacrificing. Growing up, we had a large family and my dad was the only wage earner for most of it. We were never in want, but I am sure that there are lots of things that he went without so that we could have nice things. He was very frugal and still is even though he no longer needs to be. (It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks as they say). When we first moved to Canada from Finland, he had to take whatever job he could find as a new immigrant. He ended up doing manual labour for the city of Richmond. He didn't love it, but supporting his family was more important. He was fortunate to get an engineering job only a few months later.
My dad is a family man. He worked long hours and was very involved in the church, but his family was always his priority. Now that he is retired, he loves spending time with his grandkids. He has spent countless hours swimming and going to sauna with my boys. I'm pretty sure both my boys know how to swim because of him. At church, when my boys would get restless, I would send them to go sit with grandpa in the front pew. They always went because sitting with grandpa and his trombone was obviously so much better. I would always know when they had spent time with my dad because they would say things like, "mom, let's discuss how this sauna was built".
My dad is also a hockey fan. He started playing ice hockey when he turned 50 and played right up until this summer. The Canucks are his team, but if we're talking world hockey, then team Finland is where his loyalties are. Canada is a close second. Don't talk to him about football though...it's hockey or nothing.
I'm so grateful for my dad. He is exactly the same person at home as he is in church and in public. My siblings and I are so blessed.
