When I think of my dad, I think of a man who has truly given me life. My father is a humble, hardworking man who has always provided for my family and I. Through lots of ups and downs, he has always offered the best wisdom and advice, and I can’t imagine where I’d be without him.
As Father’s Day quickly approaches, it’s my time to reflect and give thanks for having such an amazing father. It isn’t often that we really tell our parents “thank you” for the intangible gifts that they have given us, over and over again in our life.
Whether it was staying up all night to work on racecars and driving the entire way to the track the next day, working 50+ hours a week to pay the bills, or showing me that hard work does pay off and that persistence is the only way to achieve your dreams….I know now, how much I value all that my dad has done for me.
Racing is an industry that will either strengthen you or break you. If you know how to get back up after falling time and time again, the character you will build will truly be immeasurable. I don’t believe that the type of persistence we must have in life is always a natural trait…I think that it is learned.
As I reflect, I want to make note of a few stories that summarize my dad’s character and how he has helped make me who I am today. As we lead up to Father’s Day, I’ll post a few short stories. In this blog, I want to talk about “makin’ do with whatcha have”.
Back when we started racing Micro Sprints, it started to become evident to me, as a kid, that racing wasn’t as simple as going outside and riding your bike. A lot of work was put into preparing our racecar and sometimes “makin’ do with what you have” was what you did when it came to getting to the racetrack.
In Quarter Midgets, we had a small motorhome that we used to pull the small trailer that my Uncle Eric let us use. It was a go-kart trailer that just fit our tiny Quarter Midget. When it was time to move up to bigger cars, that trailer wasn’t big enough and the motorhome wasn’t necessarily needed so my parents sold the motorhome and my dad “modified” the trailer.
When I say modified…I mean took the top off, and the benches out. Which meant we had a tiny little open trailer that juuusst fit the Micro Sprint enough so that we could use his little old S-10 pickup truck (in which I referred to the truck with the white door, because it was black and had a white door).
Although I was a 12 year old girl who thought I was too cool for school and felt silly about that truck and our make-shift trailer…it didn’t matter once we got to the racetrack and were racin’ with the big boys every weekend. Looking back, it truly was a lesson in “makin’ do with whatcha have” because even though we didn’t have the money for a big truck and trailer (or other material things), it was a great example then and now that having the biggest and best of everything doesn’t make anyone a winner. It’s the hard work and heart that goes into it that wins every time.
Dad, thanks for always showing me that material things don’t always matter and that with some heart and quality work – getting things done happens just as good as the rest of ‘em.
