Praying

This is a picture of me in 1956 so I was 8 years old.
I was reading "The Lord's Prayer" in the Book of Mormon this morning and was reminded of my father, Daniel Henry McCauley.  It was my father who first taught me to pray.  The first prayer he taught me was:  "Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  Then when I was a little older, he taught me the Lord's Prayer.  My father was a Catholic but didn't go to church.  Yet, he was such an incredible role model for me in so many ways and taught me so much about what it means to be principled person.

Lunch with Barbara Bloom

Today would have been my father's 111th birthday.  It doesn't seem possible that my years without him have been more than my years with him on this earth.  Yet, I have so many special memories of him.  I thought I would share one today to honor him on his birthday.  :)

The summer I was 8 years old my mother decided to hire someone--a teenager--to babysit me and clean the house.  I still remember the gal's name--Barbara Bloom.  She and I did not hit it off so well. I probably wasn't the easiest child to babysit, but she wasn't the greatest babysitter either.  One day she fixed me something for lunch that I didn't like.  My father came home for lunch, so I told him that I didn't want to eat what she fixed.  He told me that I didn't have to eat it.  Needless to say, this didn't go over so well with Barbara Bloom, and she gave me a scathing lecture after he went back to work. Yet, I was satisfied because I had my father on my side.

The next summer I begged my mother not to hire another babysitter.  I convinced her that I could take care of myself better than any babysitter could.  My days with "Barbara Blooms" were over.  YEAH!!!

   

Father's Day 2016

In honor of my father (Daniel Henry McCauley) this 2016 Father's Day who is now on the other side of veil,  I thought I could share some tidbits about him on our family blog.  My father only had a 7th or 8th grade education, but he was one of the brightest people I have ever known, and he so valued education.  After I had graduated from college and was teaching in Salt Lake City, Utah, I would still go home to Graham, Washington in the summer.  One tradition my father and I had during these summer visits was for me to do as much I could on the daily newspaper crossword puzzle, and then he would finish it!  He was adamant about watching educational programs on TV and couldn't understand why I wasn't more interested (which I am now, probably because of his example!).  The day I graduated from BYU with my undergraduate degree, my dad asked me when I was going to get my master's.

Dancing

Thinking of my dad today.  My father, Daniel Henry McCauley, was not only not LDS, but dancing was definitely not one of his favorite activities.  Yet, He always went to the Daddy/Daughter dances with me when I was in Primary.  He also escorted me to the Gold & Green Ball when I was 18.   Each day I treasure my father more!

Labor Day Story of My Dad

Because today is Labor Day, I felt I would write something about my dad and his work.  After retiring from 30 years of service in the Army and Air Force, my dad went to work for his brother, Bernard McCauley, on a mink farm in Graham, Washington.  We lived in a SMALL trailer on the property until our house was ready for us.  In spite of the fact that mink can STINK and they are mean little creatures, we loved our house that was in front of the mink sheds.  (I finally had an attic bedroom that I always wanted!). 


After a few months there was some kind of disagreement between my dad and Bernard so my dad left his work at the mink farm--which meant we had to leave our beloved house.  Yet, we found another house in Graham that was only about a mile away which meant I could go to the same school and attend the same church.  Plus, this house had an attic bedroom, too!  My parents rented that cute, little red house for $50 a month from Mabel and Art Crate for years.


My dad left the mink farm without having another job, but he soon found the ideal job for him.  He started working at the pro shop at the McCord Air Force Base golf course.   He not only enjoyed the interaction he had with people who came to the pro shop, but he also played a round or two of golf while he was there. 

Only One Time

I can remember only one time that my dad spanked me.  I'm not sure how hold I was--maybe about 11 or 12, and I had talked back to my mother.  Dad took a belt to me.  The first time he hit me, it didn't hurt, and I made the terrible mistake of laughing.  This made my dad mad, and he hit me again...and this time it did hurt!  I learned to never cross that line again. 

The Love of a Father

When I left on my LDS mission to Ecuador in October 1975 my dad wasn't feeling well, but we just thought it was something like the flu. Because he didn't seem to be getting better, the doctors continued to do some testing. In April I was called from Quevedo to the mission home in Quito and was told that my father had cancer, and they were only giving him 6 months to live. I was devastated. My mission president, President Heward, said that the area president had discussed my situation and felt that I should stay in the mission field. Needless to say, I spent a sleepless night--crying and praying and praying and crying. How was I going to tell my father that I wasn't coming home? He was not even LDS. How would he ever understand? Before I could call him the next morning, my dad called me. He told me that I needed to stay right where I was. I am writing this account 39 years later, and I am crying as I write this because of the great love and sacrifice of my father. He did die, as the doctors predicted, in October 1976. I anxiously wait for the day I can see him again!