The day my dad decided to apply to med school {In honor of Father's Day}

Friday, June 15, 2012

Newspaper subscriptions were the first distraction to go on the day my dad decided to apply to medical school. I was in preschool when he realized his education, including a bachelor’s and master’s degree, was yet unfinished. So, driven by his courage and my mother’s faith, we moved from Washington to Ohio during the sweaty, mosquito-infested months of summer. 

Only a year ago I learned that he chose to do the first few years of medical school through independent study. All day he bent over textbooks in the library, but despite his exhausting schedule, I never thought he was away more than my friends’ fathers. He diligently left his studies at school so he could be with us, in body and mind, when he came home. 

We kids were unaware of the grueling routine -- we just knew our playtime was even more fun when he was around. We rode bikes together and collected worms from the garden. He would jump us sky-high on the trampoline, and once he even made a treasure hunt leading to a bottle of Sprite to share.

My dad is a runner, a birdwatcher, a man of the land. He believes in simplicity and being elbow-deep in dirt. He grinds wheat for bread, presses apples to make cider, his liquid gold, and lives by principles inspired by the Amish. He is a storyteller, a handyman and the hardest worker I have ever known.




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1 comment:

  1. This is so lovely.

    And you are perhaps the cutest little curly haired red head child I have ever seen.

    If my kids look just like you... well I would be thrilled.

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