There are some fun things from this past year that we wanted to share with you.
We like to call them "Dad-isms". With his language and reasoning abilities inhibited, some things dad would say and do became sweetly apart of who he is. Some little things he taught us this year:
-Dad taught us that you could cook anything in the microwave simply by pushing the "Potato" button...and then watching it until it seemed done. Amazing!
-When something was too difficult, we learned that we could just "leave it a go".
-When something was really important, you could simply respond by widening your eyes and saying, "HUGE!" This gets the message across quickly and concisely.
-If you need anything at all, you can just stop by Home Depot! We (along with dad's friends) would end up driving him to Home Depot about 3-4 times a week. He loved it. When he couldn't think of the name of the place he wanted to go, we could suggest Home Depot and be correct 95% of the time.
-His favorite snacks varied through out the year. In the beginning he loved huge, pecan cinnamon rolls. But they were too huge to eat at once, and he couldn't say "cinnamon roll" so we learned that when he asked for a "half" that he was wanting a half of a roll.
-He got tired of cinnamon rolls and moved onto Oreos. Whenever he would go to the store he would by multiple packages of various types of Oreos. We learned that when he asked for "two" he was wanting to examine his Oreo "buffet" and choose two cookies.
-If he got tired he could just pop a couple "happies", the name for what he would call his pain killers. They pepped him right back up and helped him be himself again.
Although markers of his illness, these things helped us have fun and smile about this whole thing throughout the year. Dad taught us especially how to do that.
Larry, Leslie, Lauren and Lyndsey--
ReplyDeleteThanks for this blog. We think of you just about every minute of the day. Our prayers are with you as you are going through a very difficult time, but we know the Lord will provide as He always does. We will miss him very much, but we are thankful that he can find relief from the infirmities of life. Let us know if we can help in any way.
Gene & Mary Marti
i really liked it when he was telling us how we could ask for anything we needed, and every example was a pig :) you know, if you need a pig, or maybe you like a pig, or a pig pig, you just let us know. love
ReplyDeleteLarry-
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about growing up in the neighborhood, and how often my sisters and I ended up in your house. I was thinking about softball...about how enthusiastic you were about even my truly inexistent abilities. I think about you so often, and want you to know what a great dad you are to your daughters...and the other four neighborhood girls you aren't even related to...
Love,
Caroline Brady
Larry is a bit like the Pied Piper. He doesn't toot a horn, but through words of encouragement, he "toots" a message, just as he subtly tooted the message for you to attend and ag school, Lauren. I really don't know if I would had ended up at O-State if Larry hadn't gone there first. I did know early on, that I wanted to go further away than Southwestern and knew that I probably would not go out-of-state. I do know that I was influenced by Larry's pathway.
ReplyDeleteI love the "HUGE" dad-ism. I can see and hear him saying this. I think that too is part of his charisma--his facial and vocal expressions. Sometimes intentionally entertaining; always inviting. Beulah was expressive. Em was a little more laid back, but Beulah was not afraid to express lots of laughter. Of course, the Sparks family always enjoyed much laughter. In fact, I expect they are having lots of laughs together in heaven. Larry will remember when his aunts and uncles came from California to visit during the summer months.
Larry was working on a notebook of wisdom when he was here for his class reunion. Did he share that with you, Lauren and Lyndsay? He could never capture all his wisdom on paper, but he was off to a good start when he was here. Treasure those written words.
Give him a hug for me.
Thank you for sharing these stories with us. They cause us, to also, laugh and smile and cry and reflect on the dear person your dad has been in our lives. We can 'see' him in many of these stories, and almost feel like we are there with you. And, we are, in spirit and in love. Our prayers continue to be that God will embrace you with comfort, peace, power, and strength.
ReplyDeleteSend our greetings, and love, to your dad.
Love,
Laura and Sandy
Lauren: THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE VISIT YESTERDAY! It meant so much to Gloria and me to come by and to get to talk to Larry some, meet extended family and friends, and to see how beautifully the home turned out from all the work! Larry's three queens, supported by several others during this difficult time, certainly are strong and help to make hime as comfortable as possible. I know he knows how blessed he is. While we came to visit, add comfort and prayer, we left feeling richly blessed. God works in mysterious and wonderful ways and he is certainly using Larry to show the glory of His kingdom.
ReplyDeleteTake care and tell Dad hi!
Darrell
Larry, I just wanted to tell you before you go: knowing you has reinforced my confidence in the importance of trusting God in everything that matters. Thanks for all the nice words and kind acts over the years. When you get to Heaven, I hope you can look my Dad up because you guys will like eachother. Don't worry about your lovely women. You've made sure they are cared for and that they know they are loved. You did a masterful job of that and you really are "Entrepreneur of the Year!" Congratulations on a stellar life! Tell Leslie I'm going to bring her some chocolate covered macadamia nuts from my vacation so she can eat them SLOWLY, one at a time, like she eats M&Ms. That will give us plenty of time to remember the orchestra banquet, room mother stuff, seeing Titanic, cruising the Caribbean, collecting Beanie Babies, and watching our daughters grow into beautiful women, launched by the very best of fathers. It is a privilege to know you.
ReplyDelete