This past Sunday my children and I sat on the ground and constructed impenetrable towers at various spots of the hallway. We then took a tennis ball and tried to knock the towers down by rolling it across the floor. My kids loved it and I actually love this game as well because it reminds me of when I was a child and my father would do the same for me. We would line of these juggling pins and take some heavy juggling balls and try to knock down the pins. My father was 6'8'', 200+ lbs and could barely fit in the hallway but there he was at the opposite end kindly dedicating his time to me with senseless fun.
Kindness is one of my father's greatest qualities. He never yelled at me. He certainly was upset at times but never yelled. I never heard a swear word come out of his mouth. He would come home from his business trips and always bring me a magic pen book. It was the type of book that words and pictures would appear with a special highlighter. I loved those activities. He always took the time to teach me. If he was changing tires or fixing something in the car, he would teach me how it was done. As we would drive to Utah and spend 10 hours together on the road he would teach me good principles of driving. Now my father understood the importance of repetition because some of this teachings were repeated multiple times. I still to this day don't know if he realized he was repeating or if just simply forgot he had already shared that particular pearl. Examples include "Don't Force It", "Never back up more than you need", "Always stay 2 seconds behind the person in front of you when driving", "Keep your hands at 10 and 2", "When you are on the toilet, avoid making a lot of noise, you may get hemorrhoids". Actually, he only had to tell me the last one once.
My dad was thoughtful of others. There was a man where we grew up that all of us kids called "Billy was a bad guy" We attended church with this man and he was truly a loner. I believe he was friendless until my dad started reaching out to him. They became good friends. My father would take foods and new dishes he was trying to the neighbors. He would make hanging flower cradles made of wood and give them to his neighbors and friends. Many times he would do this anonymously. He was often trying to share with others that which meant the most to him, his testimony of the gospel. Many a family home evening, we would sit down and try to construct the perfect letter for our friends to invite them to church or an activity. He was a good missionary.
As I got older, my dad would still travel to Utah to attend my various concerts and activities. He was there at every graduation ceremony as well. He was always 100% supportive. He knew how to complement as well. He knew to complement on something specific he observed truly showing you he was genuinely interested in your accomplishment.
Today my father continues to show his kindness. He sends all his children ideas on family home evening. He writes us his favorite quotes. He has used his carpentry skills to construct wonderful gifts for his grandchildren. He sends me articles in the mail that he thinks would be pertinent to my patient's needs. In fact, yesterday, I saw a young man who was needing a physical for football. He had just left practice and he was feeling a bit nauseous as it was close to 90 degrees outside. He was obviously dehydrated and needed more water breaks during his practice. His mother said, Dr. Smith, can you give me anything for the coaches so that they are more aware of this danger with our kids. I reached in my shirt pocket and pulled out an article my father sent to me in the mail entitled Kids, Sports and Heat Stroke. I made her copy and read to them a few pointers to help them out. It was awesome, my dad was so cool to send me that article when he did. He is always thinking of us his children and grandchildren. We are at the front of his priorities and I have never doubted this at all.
Dad, just thinking of you today and everyday. Thank you for your wonderful influence and example of kindness. Love The Borks
