July 5, 2025
Day 1,373 of the Adventure
Today, I experienced the passing of a legacy. Ironically, among many of the reasons I would refer to it that way has to do with most of the life Shelley and I are living and creating for ourselves right now. This morning, my dad was about two months away from turning 95 years old. A week or so ago, he became sick. With the compounding effects of this on his already difficult health conditions, this morning he departed this temporal world for his eternal reward. Sadness and joy were my two opposing emotions. Dad had lived a great life and certainly no one that knew him could ever dispute that. Over the years, he had become burdened with health issues that were difficult for him, even though his gentle demeaner seldom betrayed the hardship much of it caused him.
As I grew up, I experienced many of the legacies imparted from dad and mom upon my life. One of which was a fearless approach to doing things that many would never consider to be possible. Like building a house from scratch for example. Their first experience at this was just prior to my birth. Necessity drove this decision. Dad traded a herd of hogs he had raised in exchange for the building materials needed for their home. From what I understand about it, this was their only real option to own a home of their own. During my younger years, dad and mom build three houses that we lived in. The last one was in Boone Iowa, and at thirteen years old, I actually took part in a large part of the construction. Nailing things where I was told to nail them. Pulling wires where I was told to pull them. Making electrical connections where and how I was supposed to make them. The list pretty much included everything from foundation work to roofing. Electrical to plumbing and finish trim work. At barely a teen, I had my hands in virtually every step of house-building. At the time, I had no real interest in it and mostly just did what I was told. No thirteen year old has aspirations of one day, building a house of his own. To me, it was all just "Chores". Over time and in adulthood, the skills had mostly stuck with me and here we are today, Shelley and I, building a home in the backwoods of the Missouri Ozarks. And LOVING it! It wasn't so much the skills that helped enable this because I really didn't understand them when I was actually doing them. The important part was that attitude of "Why not build a house?" I watched and helped dad do it. If he did it, I think I can too. I was to follow that same approach with the self-sufficiency paradigm I grew up with. We managed to make do with less than almost anyone I ever knew of. I never viewed it as a disadvantage. I guess when it's just "Normal Life", you don't even realize it as actually lacking in anything. It's just "Normal Life".
Dad and mom bother left legacies worth having and owning. Really, they are too numerous to count. Perhaps I'll try some time to compile some of them and tell their stories. Until then, it's simply worth noting that even when there's not much to work with, a little creativity, ingenuity, ambition and belief in the fact that "I can do this", is really all you need. I've never had much more than that, but that by itself........ Has made all the difference!
Carry On
Adventure Quote: “Even though our time in this life is temporary, if we live well enough, our legacy will last forever.” ―
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