75 is Magical!

My Dad turned 75 earlier this month!?  I still think of him as 50, or 60, but thankfully he is as active and healthy as those ages and he proves that 75 can be an awesome time in life.  His wife, Kathleen, did a great job of hosting a surprise birthday party, coordinating the guests and even hiring a magician for some great entertainment.  Most of the family was able to make it to the party, plus all of his weekly poker friends + their wives.  We had a fantastic time!  Amber (with a little help from me) set up a photo booth as well and it was even more fun than expected!

Meanwhile, leading up to the party, my sister, Marilyn, wrote a bit about my Dad, which us kids read out loud at the party.  I wanted to include it on my blog as well to look back on.  All of it rings true and displays the awesome Dad that we have all been blessed with! 

I love you Dad!  Happy 75th birthday!!

9 Things I learned from My Dad

By Marilyn Loftsgard

My Dad will turn 75 tomorrow! I am so thankful for him, yet sad that I will not be able to celebrate with him and the rest of my siblings. My heart goes out to two of my dear friends who have very recently lost one of their parents. I wanted to write this note to honor my Dad on his special day. These are some of things I "caught" growing up as his daughter.

1 - Children are blessings. When his family told my dad that he was having too many children (he had 8), and that this large family would prevent him from ever successfully owning his own business, he told them that he would be successful BECAUSE of these children. I grew up believing that I was an asset - that his successes were partly because of me :-).

2 - Value your spouse. Dad always told us that Mom was a huge reason for his success. He said that she had the harder, more important "job" as she stayed home with the kids and managed the home and the bookkeeping of the business. They modeled a healthy partnership where they respected and loved each other through good times and bad.

3 - Church was important. No matter how busy life was (and as a child I remember Dad working pretty much every Sunday), he always left work to go to church as a family.

4 - Education is important. There were years where 50% of his earnings went toward school tuition for his kids. Once money was more plentiful, Dad gave towards scholarships for other kids besides his own.

5 - It is a blessing to give. Our home was always open for guests (for dinner or for months at a time). Dad gave of the produce in our garden, gave his wisdom in mentoring and listening, gave his time . . .

6 - Be a learner, every day. Dad reads newspapers, books, magazines daily - always learning and often taking risks by trying new methods in his business. We always had to state the reasons for any opinions we voiced. He enjoyed challenging these opinions (even if he agreed with us).

7 - Being reconciled is more important than being right. Dad does not hold grudges and is quick to forgive offenses.

8 - Don't be a respecter of persons. Dad always sees past what people are wearing or what they do. He sees people as unique and interesting. When his eldest (me!) brought home a long-haired farm boy who always wore a baseball cap and was very slow to speak, Dad trusted that he had taught me what to look for in a spouse and NEVER said a negative word about him.

9 - Money does not buy happiness. I honestly have no perception of life being better or happier when we had money in my late teens vs. when we had next to none as a child. We played card games, worked, imagined, discovered, and enjoyed each other. Living on next to nothing was a game - canning, sewing, recycling . . .  There were definitely some things I couldn't do because of a lack of funds but it paled in comparison to what I had and could do. 
 I learned how to be resourceful, optimistic, and never bored :-).

Happy birthday, Dad. I love you and am so very, very, very thankful to be your daughter!

Though they are all in the awesome video Amber put together (above) I wanted to include a few of the fun photo booth  pictures...