Blessing #7--My Father-in-Law

I know, I know. I'm a day behind... but I was consoling my teething boy last night when I had planned to write this.

A quiet, soft-spoken man he is. Yet, there is this hilarious side of him, too. Yes, it is still a quiet side, but hilarious nonetheless. When I was still "new to the family", we were all playing contract rummy. This soft-spoken, quiet man busted out with his homemade song "Jack of Diamonds" to the tune of "Oh My Darling". It was hilarious. And, he still does it every time we play the game. Too funny.
Just the other day, we were at my in-laws' house and as the channels were being flipped, my FIL saw that Dumb and Dumber was on tv. So, of course, as is tradition in this family, he stopped flipping channels. My hubby whispered to me "watch my dad" and so I did. We sat there together, trying so hard not to laugh out loud. My FIL was sitting in his chair quoting to himself the lines from the movie. All the while, he was laughing to himself about the movie. What a sad day to realize that his sons had rubbed off on him so much that he now quotes the infamous movie, too.

Funny as he is, this wonderful man is also serious. Serious when it comes to loving his family. No, he isn't demonstrative in over-the-top public displays of affection. Like I said, he is quiet and subtle about what he does. But, it is obvious that he loves his family. If my son wants to go swimming, my FIL goes outside and ensures that the pool is clean enough for his little guy. One time when I was at my in-laws' house, I asked my FIL if I could have some hot chocolate. He matter-of-factly told me, "You can have anything in this house that you want." And, so it has been. I haven't felt the need to "ask permission" for anything since. His children respect and love him. What greater testimony is there to being a good father than to have your children respect you and still want to "hang out" (or play golf) with you when they are adults?

He loves his grandson and Toad adores him. Toad loves to walk Papa Golf all over the house, using Papa's golf clubs as steering sticks. My FIL a tough guy. He powers through pain to play the game he loves--golf. He has a passion for the game and wins just about every tournament in which he participates. He does the yard work, despite it being hard on his body. Although retired, he can't just sit and do nothing (on days he doesn't play golf), so he created himself a home-based business.

This man has a sweet and sensitive side, too. In many ways, he reminds me of my late Gramps. There is no greater compliment I could afford someone than that. During the holidays, I was overwhelmed with the resemblance between my FIL and my late Gramps. It was a good thing to have someone in my everyday life who reminds me so much of a man I respected and adored so much. It was hard, too, because he reminded me of so much of my Gramps. However, I was comforted and felt truly blessed to know that my son will grow up with a grandfather so much like my own. One of my most prized possessions is a letter that my FIL gave me when he picked me and my hubby up from the airport, following our honeymoon. Just after our wedding ceremony, my FIL hugged me and, slightly emotional, told me that he'd have to write me a letter to tell me what he was thinking at that moment. That warmed my heart, but I didn't know if he would really do it. To my delight, he handed me an envelope when we got home from our honeymoon. That letter means the world to me.