My Dad's Legacy, part 2

Today has been hard. For those of you who have watched someone you love slip away before your eyes, perhaps you understand. This time of year, it seems like all the terrible memories come flooding back. I try to overwhelm them with the beautiful, forever-cherished memories, but the bad ones still seep in. To be completely, totally honest...death is the ugliest thing to scar this earth. There is no other way to describe it. I will spare you of the memories that haunt me, but please keep what I have shared with you in mind the next time you meet someone who grieves from the loss of loved ones.

Back to introducing you to my incredible dad...
One of the things I loved the most about my daddy, was that he could be incredibly silly with us, even after a long day. My dad taught middle schoolers...and to this day, I don't know how he even did that! BUT, you would have been shocked to see the things my dad did with us after spending all day putting up with preteens! Spending time with us was SO important to him. One of our favorite things to do was play hide-and-go-seek in a pitch black house. I remember, even as a little girl, pressing up close to him in a closet while we hid from the offensive "IT." We played kickball, catch, board games, went on walks...He was never "too tired" to play with us. Oh, how silly he could be with us!!! I learned from a young age that I could be completely comfortable in my own skin around him...because he was completely comfortable with who he was, flaws and all! He would make fun of himself relentlessly, all to give us a good laugh! My family and I have so many inside jokes about my dad...they are so ridiculous, in fact, that you would probably just roll your eyes if I tried to explain them to you! Parents, never underestimate the power of spending time uninterrupted with your kids. The time my dad spent with us, just getting down and dirty and PLAYING...well, it has forever impacted me.
Here are a couple of pictures of my dad being silly, just for his kids = )


One of the things I loved most about my dad was how dedicated he was to the work God gave him. As I shared with you, my dad was a middle school teacher. He was not a CEO, pastor, doctor, missionary, or lawyer. He was a teacher. But to him, his job was a sacred calling, no doubt a mission field. Every day he went to school with the goal of sharing Christ with those he came into contact with, whether they be teachers, students, or even the janitors that cleaned his classroom. He took an interest in everyone. He wrote a birthday letter to nearly every single teacher he had ever worked with...every year. He called each of his current students on their birthdays. He bought gifts for all of his coworkers every year. And he shared his testimony every chance he got...and even sometimes when he wasn't given a chance! Many of his coworkers did not treat him kindly, even sometimes ignored him. It didn't matter. He greeted them by name, with a huge smile, eager to brighten up the day of anyone he brushed shoulders with! His students LOVED HIM, oh did they love him.

This picture was taken after my dad had taken some time off work following his diagnosis. The newspaper ran an article on him and this was the picture that was printed with it. Boy, did the students miss him!!!

It seemed like everywhere we went in town, someone would stop him and say, "Hey, Mr. H! I had you as a teacher X number of years ago!" And my dad always remembered them. If he didn't remember their names, he remembered some little detail about their lives.

My dad's job was not always easy. I know he had hard days. He would say to me, "ASH, sometimes you just have to show up and let God do the rest!" I still live by that principle today.