Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!!! Love you to the moon and back!!!!!

I wrote this Father’s Day post on my other blog A Home for the Family Tree back in 2015, and have posted it a couple of times to social media at this time of year, but I have never linked this to Searching for EMWA. No time like the present!

While my Grandpa Cooper deserves the credit for my being a water baby and my mom deserves it for my love of reading, my dad is the one responsible for the fact that I take being active, in some form or fashion, for granted.

My dad played baseball growing up, playing in high school and while attending Wayne State University. He worked for the Detroit Parks and got a degree in Physical Education. While Barb and I were in elementary and middle school, he taught PE and then middle school science in the suburban Detroit community of Livonia, coaching baseball and teaching driver’s ed. As a gym teacher, he was more interested in his students earning Presidential Fitness Awards and acquiring a love for being active, than winning the next football game. As a father of two daughters growing up after the establishment of Title IX in 1972, he made sure we had the same exposure to sports and activities he would have given sons.

He taught us to ride a bike, drive & wash a car, fish (yes, I know how to put a worm on a fishhook) and fly a kite. He played catch with us and built skating rinks in our backyard so we could ice skate and play hockey. He supported our learning to water and snow ski, take ballet and skating lessons, and play basketball.  He never had issues with our playing sports on his lawn and even used tuna cans to create a miniature golf course in our back yard. Even the dollhouse he built for us encouraged activity!

My dad has also led a very active life himself. He was a runner for 15-20 years and then when hip problems started to occur, he walked and biked with equal dedication. He played hockey and softball as an adult; was an Army reservist, downhill skier, and sailor; and even waterskied (slalom) well in to his 60s. This active man modeled a healthy lifestyle for his daughters and grandchildren and made being mobile and active a given.

For lots of pics and the original post, follow this link:

http://ahomeforthefamilytree.family/2020/06/21/happy-fathers-day-dad/

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!!!! Love you to the Moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!