The Atkinsons

My Dad and Baby Elijah

A week a half ago we had a party for my Dad's 60th birthday. As his birthday gift we had collected over 60 letters from his friends, family, and colleagues. It was so wonderful to read all these things people had written about my dad from all aspects of his life. It just reiterated what I already knew about my Dad; that he is crazy, intelligent, full of endless energy, spiritual, giving, and unlike anyone you will ever meet your life- I promise you that. Upon re-reading what I wrote for my Dad I felt like I left so much out! How wonderful he is to my Mom, how much time he gives to those around, that he will always help anyone he sees on the side of the road, that he is always trying to better himself. Oh man, I feel like I could go on forever, I just look up to him so much! He works harder than anyone I know and he has a good heart and a clean conscious. He is always honest. Here is what I wrote about my dad for the book.

"My Dad. I think one of my friends said best about my dad what I’ve always felt about him, that is he someone who you can never imagine aging or growing old in any way. Someone who seems like he will just live on forever. My Dad embodies a spirit that is larger than life, and as an adult I reflect often on the many things he did and still does and wonder, how? How does he do it? I also think often of my Mom dating and marrying this person and really not knowing what her life held for her. The memories I have of my Dad most often are filled with adventure, but also intellectual conversations and at times deep spiritual emotion. My dad has so many facets to him and most of all I learn from him to never be idle and live an honest, full, and balanced life. I’ve never really felt limited by anything because my Dad just believed that all of us would do great things.

            My Dad would read to us as children. I have vivid memories of laying on the top bunk, my sister Ellen on the bottom, and Dad narrating The Chronicles of Narnia with such excitement. We were completely enthralled by it. My Dad had 6 girls and since I am sure he would rather have had 6 sons, he decided to treat us like his sons anyways, and the little tomboy in me really appreciated that.  I remember he took us on a scouting trip with the some older boys. My sister Ellen and I wore some of his old wool camping shirts and pants and just like all the older scouts we hiked 7 miles in the sand to a lighthouse. As little girls we had so much fun jumping on driftwood, and it never occurred to me that we were doing something hard because my dad treated us like we could do everything those older boys were doing. Ive kept that faith in myself all throughout my life, and I credit that to my Dad.

            My dad has endless energy, and a moment to help someone or teach is never lost on him. My friends and I wanted to go canoeing at Lake Washington. My dad told us 16-year-old girls, well why don’t you just tie this canoe to the suburban and drive in there yourselves. He took the time to teach us the proper knots to use (one is always required to display proper knot skills in front of my Dad) and sent us on our way. My friends and I still talk about the memory of how fun that was and how funny these young girls looked driving with this big canoe on the freeway and then having to figure out how to lift it off the car and get it to the ocean ourselves. It was great.

            My Dad would make up all kinds of games and play them with us for hours. Make a break for it was the most popular. We'd have to get our stuffed animals from one couch to another across the room and he’d try to catch us in the middle. If he caught us we had to return our animal and try again. Oh we loved that game so much. My dad had no problem rearranging anything to accommodate some idea we had, and I have no memory of how tidy our house looked because it didn’t matter to us kids, we just wanted to have fun, and Dad (and Mom) always let us. I think my Dad worked a lot growing up, but I can’t really remember because when he came home he was so involved in our lives that he always seemed to be present to me. We lived in an area where people didn't really have eight kids. Despite the fact that my dad was very proud it, I felt like we got judged a lot for being a little crazy and irresponsible. People didn't have eight kids, they had one or two, but from what I observed around me growing up I am confident in saying we got just as much interaction and attention from our parents (if not more) than my friends who only had one or two siblings.  He would often commit to coaching one of our soccer teams, and if he said he would do it he was always there which I’m sure was really hard for him commuting from Seattle and having so much work to do. He always made sure he had his priorities.

            My Dad has always been a spiritual beacon for me. He has said a lot of things that have really impacted my life, and the level of spiritual devotion I witnessed as I watched him throughout my childhood and into adulthood will never leave me. He has always been someone that practiced what he preached. He always had us say family prayers and kept the Sabbath day Holy. He was always honest with his fellow men and with God. He cares more about doing what is right than being right, this is one of the qualities I admire the very most in my Dad and made him someone that I look to for answers. I know that besides the fact that is brilliant, he has looked at all angles and tried to come to an honest conclusion of what he think is right. He has also never let intellectualism get in the way of spirituality, which is something you often witness in the world today and he isn’t afraid or embarrassed to admit when he was wrong. I remember not too long ago my Dad read me a story in a Science magazine that he subscribes to; it was written by a man who had been an atheist all his life. The story was about a spiritual experience that he had had that he could not deny. My dad was so stirred by this story that as he read it to me he started to cry, I have always been so moved when my dad shares his spiritual experiences and emotions with me.

            My Dad has helped to strengthen my testimony so much over the years. I have never been afraid to go to him with my thoughts because I know he will honestly discuss them with me instead of brushing them aside.  I never felt that if I left the church that is would be something that my Dad would socially be embarrassed about (which is often the case in the culture we live in,) but that I would be losing something that would bless me for all eternity. I had a conversation with he and my mother one summer on a break home for college. I remember it very well. We went out to the motorhome to have some privacy and I vocalized that I was struggling with the church because I felt that church members were sometimes hypocritical, often judgmental, and in my eyes not always true followers of God. Dad said that I was right, and there would always be people like that but you are not a member of the church because of the people in it and what they do, you are a member because of the doctrine and principles of the church and if you don’t believe in those then you can leave, but what the people in the church do should never determine your standing. From then on I have never been bothered by behavior of members and always felt it was more important to gain a strong understanding and testimony of the scriptures and doctrine of the church.

            My Dad is unlike anyone else in this world and he has taught me so much and shaped me into the person I am today. I’ve incorporated so many things  he did with me in my childhood into my home. Just this morning Olive and I were playing the game where I put her on my feet and have her try to grab the pillow from behind my head. Nothing makes her laugh harder. She also loves to try to stand on my feet. She thinks I am such a fun adventurous Mom and when she gets older I’ll have to tell her I learned it from my Dad. I love you so much Dad. No one could ever replace you."

So many memories. Such a wonderful Dad.

We also blessed our little baby Elijah that Sunday. It was wonderful to have most of our family there. Here are some of the things that Kc said in his blessing.

"He is surrounded by Family who loves him. Be studious. Seek after knowledge and be a hard worker. Know God and turn to him in time of Good and Bad. Be worthy of Church Callings and to serve a full time mission. Life is good. Know God, and be Happy."

I loved KC's blessing so much. It was so beautiful and positive. I loved that he said Life is good. Life IS good, and there is so much that can bring us joy and happiness if we seek for it and I love that it was important for KC to tell his son that. It also made me think that Kc thinks his life is good, and that makes me happy because it means he is happy in his life with us. The joy in Kc's eyes when he is holding or interacting with his children is something there will never be words to describe. I am so grateful for my family.