{"id":482,"date":"2022-06-06T23:43:54","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T23:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/?p=482"},"modified":"2022-06-06T23:53:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T23:53:53","slug":"lessons-i-learned-from-my-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/lessons-i-learned-from-my-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons I Learned from My Dad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Fanny Pack of Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you were buying fanny packs at Target, my dad was wearing them around town. This was 100% horrifying, and we told him so. (He even had a leather one for fancy occasions!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you knew Steve Russell, you knew a great guy. A state-champion track runner, West Point guy, and Purdue fan. A real estate broker, owner, educator. He was also my dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June of 2016, on the eve of Father\u2019s Day, my non-smoking Dad succumbed to lung cancer. He fought a tough, 17-month battle\u2014full of bucket-list achievements and meaningful conversations. The timeliness of his death actually came as a big blessing, giving that holiday even more meaning to me. It has been six insanely fast, yet forever-long years without him.<\/p>\n\n\n

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As I reflected on his life and cleaned out the contents of his fanny pack, I realized that he was always teaching me something:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fanny pack: Always be ready to serve. When both hands are free, you\u2019ve got them available to hold, lend, help. Also, never be concerned with a certain look\u2014stay functional, active, available (even if it means bucking current fashion trends)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wallet: Be willing to give your time, talents, and resources. This community needs all of us to survive and thrive. Set aside money to help others. Set aside time to help others. Use your God-given gifts to help others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tube glasses: (Literally slim glasses that slide into a tube and fit in the fanny pack. HA!) Think about your perspective on things. Then, step back and realize there are two sides to every story. Listen before you speak. Think before you speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small notepad: Plan, dream, and prioritize. Never stop learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breath mints: Love, be ready to give kisses. This world hurts for a lot of people. Lean in. Ask questions. Give hugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flashlight: Get outside, enjoy God\u2019s creation. There\u2019s nothing better for your soul than fresh air and no screens!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch: Be punctual. Show respect for others by simply respecting their time. Be dependable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were so many other things Dad taught me about life: Always be prepared. Never stop learning. Take the grocery cart back inside the store. Have an abiding faith. I\u2019m so grateful for the 34 years we had together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am with you always.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Fanny Pack of Life Before you were buying fanny packs at Target, my dad was wearing them around town. This was 100% horrifying, and we told him so. (He even had a leather one for fancy occasions!) If you knew Steve Russell, you knew a great guy. A state-champion track runner, West Point guy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20151120_162338.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":487,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions\/487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}