Day 82: Dad's Dirty Jobs

As Rob was disposing of a mouse in a trap the other day (I thought of you, Tom & Jess!), I was so grateful to have a Dad in the house to do those dirty kinds of Dad jobs. It made me think of all the thankless, yucky things that fathers do over the years. I would like to thank you, Dad, for doing all of those jobs for us!! I'm sure we rarely noticed or thanked you for things like:

• disposing of dead mice
• clearing shower drains
• packing the van or boat for trips
• cleaning out the van or boat after trips
• emptying garbages
• plunging toilets
• planting a garden (tilling, shoveling compost, etc. The rest of it was slave labor for us kids, right?)
• outfitting 8 kids with gear and taking us skiing/waterskiing/hiking/river rafting! Sometimes this one seems like the messiest, worst job of all. :)

Even though we tease you about ruining your nice work clothes by doing projects, I love that you are never afraid to jump in on a project or do a job. I love that you were a helpful house husband and set a good standard for a working partnership in the home. I love that you know how to do so many things and are always willing to give material and moral support to our own projects.

My favorite project memory of you is when you and Grandpa LeBaron took a sledgehammer to the back wall of the 2392 house and knocked out a 2nd story door. I know most of the other kids won't remember that, but I thought it was the awesomest thing I'd ever seen.

*There has been some concern at our house about what happens to the mouse in the trap. This video allayed all fears.