Coach
Each year since his death, at the end of February, I begin to think about all of the things I learned from the greatest Coach a girl could have. You see, his birthday was March 1st, and that is a very important detail for understanding this, extremely complex, man. Dad was a deep thinker and a good poker player. Anyone who knew my dad, soon realized why we called him Coach, as he was just very, very good at telling you the one little "thing" you could change in order to be more "effective" at whatever you were trying. Be it baseball, or selling paper cups, if you listened to my dad most likely he would have helped you improve your "game".
I listened to every word that came out of his mouth. Buck and I especially listened. It was usually he or me who most likely held the responsibility for Coach's latest "anger management" issues :) With Buck, Coach became the man who inspired the purchase of Mikey Jo, our bird dog, who became a world class pointer and retriever. Coach helped my brother feed and nurture his love for nature as well as that dog. I mean, literally. We shared a deep feeling of responsibility to take care of our world and to try and leave nature a little "better" than we found it. Certainly, under no circumstances, were we ever taught to walk away and leave trash or a burning fire. Buck and my father fantasized about living in the wilderness depending only on themselves, needing nothing except bullets, arrows, fresh water, hooks, etc...... Buck and dad worked their way through the Eagle Scout qualifier book ONE PAGE AT A TIME! Fortunately, I was often along beside them. It was amazing, learning all about the basics such as fly fishing (my brother could tie the coolest flies you ever saw!) and fire starting. I enjoyed encouraging Buck to tread water a little longer in order to swim a mile in fresh water without stopping...... Today, Buck would certainly be the Uber-Contestant in a show like Survivor, FOR REAL! Coach taught us about being "survivors" in our own lives.
We often spoke about how amazing it is that God puts into some people a sort of "chip" that makes them DETERMINED to see what is on the other side of a mountain in front of them.... other people... could live a lifetime and never even wonder what is over there. A person like Buck? He had that chip.... absolutely! Even though Coach knew it would have been much "SAFER" for Buck to just forget about his mountain climbing.... my dad also knew that to force a "safe" lifestyle onto Buck wouldn't have worked at all. I learned how to love my own children by watching my dad afford his son the freedom to make his own choices and go and see what was on the other side of that mountain.....
I learned, through watching Coach in his other relationships, that true love is the kind that's found on a familial level. Family, knows you and accepts you. It includes you always and is consistent. You can count on it and it helps you to become all that you can be. It leads you upward always and never brings you down. I really appreciate more now what he taught me about family and how important a role they play in a person's life. My children have known that kind of love because of what Coach taught me.
I wish that my dad and I could have had a few more years to talk. I know that Coach would have been very much a part of my life and my kids' lives had he not been called home. I learned a lot about family from him. I think, many times, that I'm the only one who was listening with respect to family and the role that it should play in a person's life. Unfortunately, once Coach left us, the family that I thought I had, just exploded into nothingness. It happens that way, some times. I have taken the valuable lessons that Coach taught us and raised his grandchildren on them along side his wisdom, common sense, spirituality and generosity.
Happy Birthday a little early this year, Coach! I loved you so very much!
Sarah beth
