Our Fathers

My dad-in-law, otherwise known as Gpa D.  (And a shout out to Gma D. who shares one of the only pictures we have of Gpa D.)

One of the things I have appreciated most about joining the Bradshaw family is seeing the examples of service in Mom and Dad B.  One of Zach's favorite memories growing up is his dad coming home and dragging taking his boys to help someone in the neighborhood or in the family that needed help.  There would be no way to list all of the times I've seen Dad B's example of service, so I'll share just a few: sleeping at his mom and dad's home once a week for 4 years to make sure his mom was okay during the night; helping various children build shelves, mow lawns, remodel houses, tile floors, install cabinets, move in and out of homes, arrange finances, fix cars, etc.; serve in various church callings; mow his neighbor's lawn every week; and countless help to brothers, sisters, in-laws and friends.  Thank you for being such a wonderful example to us!  We love you.

My papooski, Gpa Ron

I've learned so much from watching my dad about service and devotion and love and patience.  In fact, I want to write so much that I'm limiting myself to just one memory.  When I was 14 or 15, Dad thought it would be a great adventure to take a few of us kids canoeing down the Big Sioux River one summer day.  It was definitely an adventure.  Great?  Not so sure.  We started in the morning, launced the canoes in the river and planned on going just a few miles down the river to meet up with the car.  Those few miles turned into miles and miles AND miles.  We had to navigate through swampy areas and try to keep the mosquitos off and get the canoes up and out of the river every time we came to a cattle fence.  There are a lot of cattle fences in the Big Sioux River in South Dakota.  Just comes with the territory . . . but we didn't know that then.  I don't remember much else except there was a lot of laughing and probably a lot of whining, especially when we started to notice just how sunburned we were getting.  I remember someone slapping me on the shoulder at church the next day and I wanted to die . . . or cry . . . or cry and then die.  (I was very melodramatic as a teenager.) Thanks for the memory dad.  And thanks for the example of patience.  It's one of my favorites.  Guess it was a great adventure after all.

These two great men have helped shape Zach and me into what we are today.  And their influences will be seen through generations to come.  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!