Just help somebody if you can

Tomorrow my dad will save someone's life. 

He is a bone marrow match for a 32-year-old man he doesn’t know and on December 9^th he will give this guy a chance for a new life.  I learned that my Mom and Dad both joined the registry 15 years ago.  Now I have always known that they are caring people, but I didn’t really didn’t know their magnitude until now. 

My parents have always taught us to do the right thing even if it isn’t popular.  A line I have heard so many times “no matter how bad you have it, there is always someone who is worse off than you are.”  This is so true, no matter how bad my day is, when I wish that I could just catch a break, I think about those words.  Now it doesn’t mean that I am all cheery again, thinking that my life is grand, it just makes me appreciate the things I do have and like most things “this too shall pass.”

My dad is my hero and I hope that in my life I can be as GOOD as he is.  He is honest and caring and will do anything for anyone without expecting anything in return.  He works his tail off.  He is a farmer, a father, a husband, a friend, a water man, and a township clerk, among other things.  I asked him one day why he works so much and he said that he works as the water man and the clerk so that he can pay the bills and that affords him the time to do the farming, which is what he really loves.  I understand what he means, his passion to grow food that feeds people.  It is pretty amazing when you think about what goes into farming and how it isn’t easy.  I could kill a fake plant, let alone really living ones, so I admire that about him.  I took that for granted growing up, probably because when I was little I had to work on the farm and I hated it. 

I have very good memories about my dad.  One memory popped up the other day when Camryn started reaching for me (which any parent knows that feeling when your baby reaches for you.) I am so glad that I don’t have to leave her at the sitter in the morning.  I don’t know what I would do if she was crying and didn’t want to stay. It made me think about when I was in Montessori and my dad was dropping me off, I didn’t want to go in, so I clung onto his leg and cried.  He took me back to Nanny Pam's and told me that I had to take a nap for the rest of the afternoon.  I was ok with that, as long as I didn’t have to stay at school.  Oh what I am in store for with Camryn, it is a little scary and exciting.  I can’t wait for this summer when Camryn gets to ride on the tractor with Dad, just like I did when I was little.  Maybe she will get the passion for growing things, that for some reason has skipped over me.   

So now my Dad is giving someone else the gift that his family has been waiting and praying for.  WOW how amazing is that! How amazing is he?  I just hope that we can be the good role models for Cam like my parents were for me.      

You never know when just a smile could change someone's life, and help somebody if you can!