My grandsons call me "Do-da" & they call my husband, "Poppa Day". Originally intended to be "Doda & Day", my husband felt like he just needed a "P" word somewhere in there and since their other grandfather is "PawPaw", he came up with "Poppa Day", which I love. It's been such a joy to be grandparents. As my momma always said, "If I'd have known how great my grand-kids were, I'd have had them first!". No truer words were ever spoken.
That being said, this story is really more about the grandfather than the grandsons. Poppa Day is a wonderful grandparent for many reasons. After being married to him for 30+ years, I admire him more with each passing year.
His parents divorced when he was only 6 years old. Poppa Day pretty much grew up without a dad around to teach him the little things like changing the oil or shooting a gun. These are things he made certain that he taught his own boys. His dad, a USAF officer, lived in Japan for many of his growing up years and simply wasn't around to teach him the things many young boys take for granted. This is pretty remarkable, especially given the fact that there is simply ALMOST NOTHING he cannot do! He can build anything, fix anything and is the living definition of a "jack of all trades".
I credit his beautiful mother for instilling the work ethic that he has, but sometimes I just cannot account for the skill he has in many areas of his life. He is literally a SELF TAUGHT MAN. Even with his vocation, he taught himself a trade and used it to work himself up from the bottom to one of the top positions at his workplace.
This is an example of something he made for me recently. I mentioned that I would love a daybed on my screen porch to read or relax in. He lovingly brought back to life a pair of old doors that he'd hauled around for years which he'd removed from my grandparents house that we purchased back in the 90's. He called all three of our sons to come help a little, even if it was just to sand or paint a small portion of it, so that he could say it was from all my boys. Here is a picture of it in an earlier stage:
He never ceases to me amaze me. Part of his extreme awesomeness is being able to make something I envision simply come to life with his own hands. This is just one example of that. Here is the finished product:
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| Daybed made with old doors from my grandparents' home. |
It's EXACTLY as I'd envisioned! This very sturdy daybed is an heirloom which I will treasure for the rest of my life. I can see myself resting on it with my grandchildren, reading them a book or just talking. But more than the furniture, what a treasure Poppa Day is to me!
Lest I sound too boastful, let me say that he's not perfect. Even our grandsons, Eddie & Noah, know that sometimes Poppa Day can get a bit crabby. Especially after 7:00 PM when he's "nested" into his special recliner. They giggle when I call him "Poppa Cranky Pants". But it's funny about kids, the things that may annoy adults never seem to bother them. They just accept us for who we are, warts & all. They don't let his crankiness bother them one little bit. They love their Poppa Day unconditionally, just like he loves them back.
I will be proud when Eddie & Noah realize that their Poppa Day is pretty much a real life super-hero in many ways. He's a self-made, self-taught man that they can be very proud to call their grandfather.
I'm thankful that God allowed our paths to cross oh so may years ago. In a way we sort of grew up together & I'm so proud of the Poppa Day he has become.
Well, guess that's enough rambling from me today.
Take good care,
Cindy
