it is my dad's BIRTHDAY and first day of RETIREMENT! Actually it was supposed to be his last day of work, but when he and my mom showed up this morning at his UPS hub (to be honored) they sent him home to start his retirement early. And I bet my dad was more than happy to take his cake and run (with a silly grin on his face)! On a February day in Minnesota that began in the negative teens...yeah sounds like a great day for a UPS driver to retire:)
We wish we could be there with him to celebrate, but with two boys in school and living 400 miles away makes it a bit tricky. So we celebrated early (when my parents visited in January)!
If I know my dad at all, I bet his retirement looks a lot like this....
And he deserves a rest! I can not even imagine what it is like to deliver hundreds of packages for 10-12 hours a day five days week for over three decades! This man has worked HARD for UPS for 35+ years. And he enjoyed his work. He loved interacting with customers every day. He especially enjoyed building relationships with repeat customers. And despite physically demanding work in ridiculously gruesome weather conditions this man did not complain. Seriously. He once was hit by a car while delivering a package. What did he do? He stood up, gathered the package and carried on. He finished his route that day. And almost every other day for that matter. The only times I can remember him calling in sick were the two times he was hospitalized! The first time we was in the ICU for 2 weeks, underwent 4 surgeries and nearly died. (Mom correct me if I am wrong on any of these facts). Since all of his children are grown and gone, he often takes on extra deliveries and pick ups so other drivers with young families can get home to see their kids! The man is in his 60s and has arthritis in his hands and knees and takes on extra work?!! That's dedication and servanthood.
So here's to you DAD! Thank you for always working so hard to provide for our family. You have been an incredible example of hard work and dedication. Enjoy your cake! You deserve it. And I hope mom makes meatloaf tonight:)
Oh and this morning when I reminded Isaiah that today is your first day of retirement, he said, "YAY! Now we get to see Grandpa anytime we visit!" We are all excited to see a lot more of you. But you better watch out...you might just get sick of us....
Here are some oldies but goodies of little Isaiah and Grandpa Paul in his UPS truck:
Very nice. When I told my kids Isaac said, "but I can't see him." As if he magically appears when he retires. It's a good thing you are the blogger because you wrote it way better than me. Congrats Dad!! You deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI bet if Isaac requests his presence dad would "magically" appear! Problem is he might never leave:)
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