Oh, gosh - so many that I couldn't name all of them! I'll list a few: "You're as good as anybody else and better than nobody else", "it doesn't cost a dime to say, "please, thank you or I'm sorry", "no matter what you do for your parents, when they're gone, you're gonna wish that you had done more". 'Dying is just part of it." "Now, Sis, you know that cats and dogs don't live as long as we do..."

He's been gone 8 years and I think of him daily. He was a great daddy and an all around good man.

The love of nature. We fished, hunted, swam and slept on river banks. Personally I didn't care to much for the river part. Also that you have to work and take care of your family and to save for days when you don't. He was a much loved man, but working and saving wasn't high on his list of priorities.

Oh, I just thought of another important fact that I learned from him, straight from his mouth, (to my brother) "Dammit, _____! You can't garden with your FEET!"

LOL

Patience from him for things I took apart and could not put back together. His patience, not mine--same from DH.
Gardening--a stick in the ground really does grow. How to graft trees, plant plants, photography==and why I should not drive my brother and mom nuts.

I learned from an overheard conversation one time that he thought I wasn't as big an idiot as my siblings because I answered the phone correctly.

I learned that you can't intimidate or threaten your children into respecting you.

I learned that living with abuse is terrible and that no child deserves that.

Linda

This is my first Father's Day without my Dad and I've learned so much from him. He didn't actively teach - he just lived his life the way I hope to live mine. He seldom complained, he worked hard, he cared for my Mom for many, many years and he loved us all in his very quiet way. When he moved in with us 4 years ago he tried to give us the privacy he thought we should have, he tried to live as independently as he could and offered to help in lots of little ways.

But the last lesson I learned was the one he gave during his final few days. He was 90 when he went into the hospital with kidney and heart failure and when I had to tell him that I couldn't bring him back home again he accepted it - as quietly and as simply as he had lived his life. He said he had lived a full life, he had no regrets and he had 3 wonderful children. He thanked me for everything I had done for him. On Christmas Day he announced that it was his last day and he passed away in his sleep that night. He was a good man. And while I'm crying as I type this I know that when he died he was content and that made it so much easier for the rest of us.

Linda, I'm sorry for your experiences. At least you turned it around and have made it into something positive in your life. Kind of one of those "don't do what I do" kinds of things. ((Linda))

McMann, my heart goes out to you, too. Sounds like you had a great daddy. ((McMann))

The biggest thing would be the love of gardening. My Mom said as soon as I could walk I followed him in the garden copying everything he did. I was the only one out of five to really have a love of gardening, especially veggies. And to love living way out in the country.
Clare

My Dad taught me many things. One was your word is your word. If you said you would do something, do it. You don't go back on your word. He also told me that if I needed someone to tell my problems or my secrets to, I could tell them to one of our dogs. He assured me that they would never tell anyone!! He was the kindest man I have ever known and only wish more of that rubbbed off on me.

Tammy

Most important thing I learned from my dad, was what kind of treatment you don't want to get as a wife.

That aside, he taught me how to prune trees.

Moni

Learning to drive - when pulling out from a stop sign:

"If you're gonna go - GO!"

LOL, Barb. My dad taught me to drive, too. He put me behind the wheel when I was only 13, and showed me how to operate a manual shift.

He also taught me some basic mechanical stuff . . . torque, leverage, and "never force anything."

"Never force anything" can be applied to a lot of things in life. :-)

"I learned that you can't intimidate or threaten your children into respecting you.

I learned that living with abuse is terrible and that no child deserves that."

I, like Linda learned the above from my "step-dad".

I learned the following from my "dad":

When/If you divorce your children's parent...don't drop out of their lives and/or let your new family be more important than your "old" family. And when your child reaches out to you, don't ignore them.

I learned never to get in an argument with MOM. You can't win.

Pay bills on time and don't live beyond your means.

Not to become an acoholic~~~I learned that not from his kind words but from his bad ones and his actions.

I could write a book on the things that dad taught me. But I think the one thing that I have taken with me the most is to 'talk to people. You will always learn something new.'

He taught me to drive the jeep by the time I was 7! Living on the farm, it was important to be able to help out...if it was only bringing lunch out to the field! =)

He was a wonderful person...all the way around. I really, really miss him! I am thankful that Dean has so many of the same characteristics as dad...Dean had two great teachers, his dad and mine!

My Dad was a wonderful, kind, caring person with a soaring intellect and a grand sense of humor. He had friends everywhere, was respected in his profession and was active in the community. His sudden death from a heart attack in 1969, at age 52, was a loss of a magnitude I cannot describe. I love you Daddy, and I miss you every day. Happy Father's Day!

I learned that there is no obstacle too large.

Jodi-

Here is a link that might be useful: My dad

Sadly I learned what NOT to do too but at least I learned that much. Unfortunately, not having a good roll model has made knowing what to do kind of a hit and miss thing. Luckily my dh has patience.(thank goodness!) I've grown to be very self reliant, and I'm not scared to do very much. I think my dh finds that good and a little unnerving all at the same time. I'm thrilled to say his children have a great roll model and love him dearly. The cycle is broken.

He taught me that the world is made up of individuals who all have their own unique view of life. Because of that, he taught me not to be judgmental and to try to see things from other's perspective. That's served me well in business and in personal relationships. He also taught me that almost every situation has a funny side and I'm truly grateful for that too!

(miss you, Dad!)

wow what a great thread for fathers day! ive learned alot, many of what you have all posted above. ive definately learned a love of nature from my dad, even though we are loggers ther are ways to do things and ways not to, i learned my love of plants mostly wild, that he grew up with, my love of animals, i could go on and on but id have to say the single most important thing i learned from him was to NEVER lie(we wont go there i found that out very early) but he knows every darned thing i ever do to this day..i could be 3 states away and he would know what i was up to lol...i LOVE my dad theres not another man like him in the world except for your dads..thanks for bringing up good memories!

I think the most important thing I learned from my father is that whatever one's religion, spirituality is not confined to a specific building on Sundays or within the pages of a specific book -- spirituality comes from within and can be found wherever you are.

My Dad had a great sense of humor. He was also a very mild
man. He treated my mom like a queen. I think I inherited his humor. He set a good example for us.

The most important thing my Dad taught us was,

"Never spit over your chin about another Nationality because there is good and bad in everyone."

I taught my kids the same thing and they have many friends
in many Cultures.

Dolly

My Dad was a wonderful daddy.....you could always count on him to be there for you.
He taught me to stand up for what I believed, probably the most important lesson I learned from him.
He taught me it was important to vote and to write letters to our government representatives when we didn't agree with how things were being run. I have a love of history and current events from him.
He taught us how to respect nature, how to shoot guns and to respect them, also. He taught me how to pan for gold, how to whittle, gather kindling and how to start a fire.
He took our family on little trips to hunt for sharks teeth, look for "interesting" rocks and to enjoy a picnic of liverwurst sausage on soda crackers with a thin slice of onion.
He taught me all about baseball, how to take care of and repair my bicycle and how to do lots of mechanical things.
He wasn't afraid to show his emotions and told me daily he loved me.....he did that with my sister and brothers, too.
I miss hearing him calling me "Little'un." Big sister was "Big-un."
I learned from him that what my Mom said was to be heeded.
She had told me to do the dishes one night and I didn't do them. He got home from work about 11 PM and I was awakened from a sound sleep. He asked me if my Mom had asked me to do the dishes and I said she did. He asked if I had done them and I said I hadn't gotten around to it. He quietly ordered me to get up and get the darned (not his lanquage) done and NOW. And when my Mom told me to do something I had better do it when she asked.
He died in 1971 when I was 31. Sadly, he wasn't around to teach my children anything except how to hunt for "interesting" rocks.

I learned how NOT to raise children. I chose, instead, to raise my 4 in a loving, kind, nurturing, supportive family, and broke the generational cycle of violence and abuse. They are all emotionally and mentally healthy, and raising the next generation the same way. I am truly blessed to have been given the grace to turn it around, by looking at what my father did and doing the opposite.

That we had been blessed with nuturing, bright parents whose genes we had inherited. We were therefore expected to get a good college education, earn good grades, and have a secure profession.

My Dad taught me to drive, a good life skill. Mom never learned to drive, so she was basically stuck in the house all her life.

I've been recalling my life and I haven't been able to think of one thing my Dad taught me other than how not to be a drunk or to have issues with every race. I had no respect for him.

Lots of things, but one thing that sticks out in my mind....he had been bitten by a dog and had to take rabies shots as a young man. He taught me to never pet someone else's dog...at least until you get to know it. I thought that was good advice and I have passed that along to my daughter. I have a friend who takes three or four of her dogs with her everywhere she goes. We were in the truck and someone walked up to admire the dogs, and they were going crazy...snarling and barking and about to knock the windows out of the truck. And the woman said, "Oh, I love dogs. May I pet them?" I thought to myself, "Are you out of your mind?!" We said, "No. They might bite you." See?
I'd never do that. Thanks, Dad.

Some of the lessons I learned from my dad should be taught to many of todayÂs generation.
If you canÂt afford to pay for it then save your money until you can.
If you want something bad enough work for it. DonÂt expect to be handed everything because the world doesnÂt owe you.
In case of emergencyÂ.Always have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments and half your yearly salary on the side.
If you are accused of something and are innocent I will stand beside you and defend you until the end. If you are accused of something and are guilty I will let you sit in jail and face the consequences.

SamKaren
your resident DJ

My Dad never, well almost never, missed a day of work. He'd go in with colds and headaches, nothing stopped him. Until the day he was at work and realized his wallet was missing. He got so upset he drove home early that day. He never found his wallet.

"I learned that you can't intimidate or threaten your children into respecting you.

I learned that living with abuse is terrible and that no child deserves that.

Linda"

Ditto for me. I definitely learned how NOT to raise my own children. It was especially hard for my three brothers. He was a bit easier on me because I was a girl. The last "spanking" I got was at the age of 18. I was engaged to be married. I came home late from church (and was driven home by the pastor). I reacted as I did to all of the spankings. I wet my pants. I screamed, "That's enough!" and it jolted him. He never touched me again.

Despite all that, he was my father, and I loved him. He did teach me a lot of good things, too. That's the way he was raised (worse, actually) and he had no idea how to break the cycle. Thank God I did.

My dad did not interact much with my sister and me partly due to a big age difference. He was 40 yrs old when I arrived, and therefore was 50 yrs old when I was an active 10 yr old boy. So, what did we learn from him? We learned that after a hard day's work and the evening meal finished, it was good for the inner person to spend a period of deep relaxation which might be reflecting on the positive things of the day, or watching the sky turn to dusk. The important thing was to put away worries and spend some time rebuilding inner peace.

jodi.. what a beautiful tribute to your dad..I'm so thankful that I have good memories of my dad, he taught me to respect ones self, I remember him saying pretty is as pretty does, when I was small.. he was honest, and hardworking..miss him alot...

My father taught me how to open a peanut, how to drive, and to never believe a thing he promised. (Out of sight = out of mind.)

Typical of him is a letter I found among my mother's things after she died. It was written from his club, where he was living before my parents divorce was final. In it he writes of his deep love for his daughter and how he will always care for her. I was three at the time. (He would remember that from time to time and buy something extravagant for me, but he never paid the small alimony or child support ordered by the court.)

I think I've figured out how he came to be the way he was -- forever striving for the love and approval of a pair of grandiose parents who had absolutely nothing to feel grand about. He was a second son. He achieved greater financial success than any of his siblings (6) and supported or helped to support his parents and all the others, to no avail. All parental affection was bestowed upon only one child, the first son. My father never got past that unmet craving. That, and his skirt-chasing, were why my mother finally gave up.