Daddy's Heart

For those of you who never knew my Daddy, I thought I would share a little about him and how his teaching me changed my heart.  Daddy was raised in Smyrna, GA and attended GA Tech to become an Industrial Engineer.  He served in the USAF as a radio man and was in the AF when I was born in Columbia, SC.  He was a man who loved God, loved his wife and family and loves life in general.  Growing up, he taught me and my brothers to play baseball and coached my brothers teams for years.  I guess he thought at 14 I was too old to be playing boys games and told me I needed to learn to cook.  The first thing I learned to cook was corn bread...that turned out a lot better than the first biscuits I made (think hockey pucks!).  Anyway, my love for all kinds of music come from Daddy too.  We used to play Name That Tune all the time and I thinmk we were both pretty good at it.  Daddy taught me how to dance and I will never forget those times we went to the "square" dance in Alpharetta.  He and my Mama looked so good out there on that dance floor.  They loved to dance!

Daddy always told me there wouldn't always be a man around to do things for me so I needed to learn to do them for myself.  He taught me how to change a tire, change the oil in my car and then let me get my driver's license.  He taught me to stand up straight and sit up straight, telling me "no body will hire you as a secretary if you slump over your desk!"  He taught me how to show respect and how to respect myself.  When I became an adult and was working for the same company he was working for, he would always make sure he took me to dinner while he was in Atlanta.  That made me feel so special and grown up. 

One of the most important lessons Daddy taught me was how to love.  No, not in so many words but by the way he loved my Mama.  My marriage today is the way it is because of the way those two loved each other.  They set a wonderful example for us kids and I don't know that they even realize they were doing that.  We lost Daddy to Cancer almost 8 years ago now and my mother's love for Daddy is still very real and very evident.  We all miss him very much but he is with Jesus and someday we will all be together again. 

Another important thing Daddy taught me was how to love God.  Daddy was always asking us questions about the Bible...quizzing us to see if we really knew.  He loved the Word and loved the history of the Bible.  I spoke at Daddy's funeral that day in February and it is only through the love of THE FATHER that I was able to do that.  Had I not learned about God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus from my Daddy, I know there is no way I would have been able to speak that day. 

My Daddy was a great man in my world and I loved him very much.  I see a lot of him and his mannerisms in my children, which is kind of weird.  I see him in my brothers too but most of all, I see him when I least expect it in the little things.  When I catch myself slouching, I can still hear his voice telling me to get my shoulders back.  When my husband and I play Name That Tune in the car, I can see his face and EVERY time I hear or sing How Great Thou Art I see his face. 

I guess you could say this is a tribute to my Daddy and hopfeully, that's ok.  He was on my heart all weekend and I just wanted to share about him in this place. 

Robert Harvey Hardage - 1/16/35 - 2/20/04