A Story about Me and My Father

Jerry Jeffcoat, Father and Founder of Backyard Fun Factory

Our father. Dad.  Fathers comfort us when we are afraid and correct us when we need it.  They give us wisdom about life and lead by example.  Well, not all fathers, but we all have stories we can tell about our dads.  The ones we like to tell are usually heartwarming and hilarious.  My father had an amazing sense of humor.  He kept the world around him in stitches.  And he loved us, his wife and kids.  Here’s a story about me and my father.

I was about 5 or 6 years old and had gotten my feelings hurt somehow.  I had baby blue eyes and a stubborn streak, just like my daddy, I had been told.  My dad came home from work and saw me sitting on the little cinderblock fence in front of our house.  I sat there with my little floral suitcase, fully packed, my bottom lip pushed out and a determined look on my face.

“When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back!” -Linda Poindexter

My dad walked over greeted me and sat down beside me. He began to tell me about his hard day at work.  He talked a long time about people that bothered him at work and how he was just in a bad mood and that’s why they upset him.  (harumf, that wasn’t MY problem) After being mad at someone, usually the next day he would hardly remember why he was mad at them.  (HA, I would never forget it) Then he talked about the lawn, and his truck and various little projects he needed to do.  He had sooo many things to take care of and I heard about each one. I listened but didn’t respond and he could see I was still mad.

He said, “So I see your bag is packed, where are you going?”  I explained I wasn’t sure yet, but I was for sure leaving, I had had enough!  He said, “I understand, I understand, sometimes we just can’t take it anymore and that sometimes I even want to run away like you.” (Gasp, oh nooo) He asked me if I thought I’d miss him if he ran away. I told him we would probably all die if he ran away, that it would be awful!  He said, “Oh don’t worry, I could never leave my family.” (Well, that’s good but I’m still going!)

Fun is Our Middle Name

I’m sure a bit exasperated at my silence he said, “Well, it’s starting to get dark, if you are still going to run away, I guess you better get started.” I looked up and realized the sun was leaving my day. (Yep, I better get moving) “I sure am going to miss you.”, he sighed. He helped me jump down off the fence then kinda yelped grabbed me and sat me back on the little fence.  Hugging me he said, “Did you see that?”   With wide eyes I shook my head no.  He said, “It was a snake, there’ll be a whole bunch of them roaming around soon.” (0h my how much is a bunch?)

I had watched my grandmother kill several and I played with horned toads and doodle bugs most days and didn’t scare easily.   He realized this and said, “They will be EVERYWHERE! Mostly rattlesnakes!” (I imagined not being able to take one step without stepping on a coiled-up Rattler.)

The gift my father gave to me every day of my life was he believed in me. – Jim Valvano

I stood on the fence with him hugging me wondering what in the world am I going to do.  If I leave now, I will surely die.  But I said I was going, and I guessed now I had to.  Dad looked at me, looked around and said, “Well, I think we got to talking and now it’s just too late for you to run away.” “The snakes will just be too bad.” (Huh!? What?!?) He saw my face and said, “Hey, don’t worry about it…you can always run away tomorrow!” (Oooooh YES!)

He picked me up and carried me into the house talking about how it’s best to wait until you can drive a car to run away so you don’t have to worry about getting snake bit.  My dad confided in me that the playhouse we had in the side yard, would be a perfect place to run away to, and to not tell anyone but that was where he would go if he were to run away.

He was right.  I think I “ran away” to that playhouse about every week for years.  Any time I just couldn’t take it anymore, I would escape to my hideaway and Dad was the only one who knew where to find me.  That playhouse became my safe place to be alone or to bond with friends and, best of all, there was NEVER a single rattle snake in that playhouse!  My Daddy knew how I was, and gave me a place to go where he knew I would be safe.

With Father’s Day coming up, take a moment to remember the lessons you learned from your dad.  And Dads – take a moment to think about the ways you guide and teach and lead your kids.

Happy Father’s Day! from Backyard Fun Factory

Blog writer – Jana Jeffcoat Huggins