04/24/2025
“Wild carrot,” he said, as he was slumping in his recliner, losing the loss of the right side of his body minute by minute. Neither of us knew it, but within an hour, my dad would be having seizures every 30 seconds for over 8 hours, before the hospice nurse would send him to the hospital. It was the absolute worst day of my life.
It was the last thing my dad ever taught me.
Whenever I see Queen Anne’s lace, I remember this conversation and how, even in his last lucid moments he was STILL trying to share his knowledge with me.
Education was his highest value and he passed it down to me. I was absolutely NEVER allowed to miss school for vacation. EVERRRR. When I would ask him a question, he’d tell me to go look it up- because the effort in the action would make the lesson more memorable. He re-taught me statistics over Thanksgiving break of my freshman year of college because I was going to fail the class. I had never failed a class. “Remember to bring home your book; the answers are in the book.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that growing up…
He used to read encyclopedias FOR FUN. yep- it was never a surprise that he was always in the winning team in a game of trivial pursuit. At his funeral so many people said, “he was the smartest person I’ve ever known.”
He truly missed his calling as an educator. He had an extraordinary way of figuring out a person’s learning style, and could adapt any lesson to it. He taught me fractions in grade school by using cooking and baking. I am so proud to say I inherited that gift from him.
As I look back as an adult, I can’t help but think, “he had to have known what he was doing with me,” Because very rarely does a day go by that one of his lessons doesn’t ring in my ears.
Nerd. Fact-finder, educator, advocate. Determined. Fiercely independent. That’s me. I came by it honestly.
He and my mother wanted me to be independent, well educated, and firm in my beliefs and values.
Mission accomplished and well done.
