A Speech for my Dad

My speech....

At the time of my Dad's funeral 3 months ago, I just knew I couldn't speak at the funeral.  

I mean, I had moments of strength, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to pull myself together enough to get up in front of a huge group of people, and talked about my Dad.

It's too personal.  

I cry too much!

I don't do public speeches

and the list goes on.....  

The morning of his funeral however, I was thinking that I just might raise my hand, and go up and say a few words before it was over.  Though I never did, some thoughts ran through my head all morning.  The speech I guess I would have given, had I been able to.

I've promised to write this stuff down, and time is going by, so here it is.  I'm 

taking the time to get this down on paper!!

My Dad was a TEACHER.

Yes,  My Dad taught high school Math for a living.  He also coached several, if not every single sport known to man.  At school, and at home.

Not just his chosen profession, but he spent his whole life teaching everyone around him.  

So, if I had to describe him in one word, it would be TEACHER.

Like that time that Dad wanted to teach my sister Jen and I about NOT smoking.

We were young, and he took us to his school.  There was a machine there.  Well, sort of like a glass box and inside was a bunch of white cotton stuff, like cotton balls, or the stuffing for a quilt.

He lit a cigarette, and the smoke filled the box making the stuffing black.  And he talked to us about how we don't smoke, and these are the reasons why.

We swam a lot.  Dad was the swim coach at BenLomond.  I remember asking him to teach me how to swim laps.  Real laps, where you get to the end of the pool, and you go under, turn, and kick off the wall laps, just like real swimmers do.  He had taught me all the strokes, before.  And so, he taught me how to turn at the end of a lap and keep going.

I LOVE to Swim!!!!!

Or like that time, that he taught me how to drive.

He told me that you never make big corrections.  You never turn the wheel very much.  Every adjustment is just so tiny and slight.  

And when you are coming into a turn, you brake to slow down, and when you are turning, you take your foot off the break, and coast through the turn, and then when you are coming out of that turn, you put your foot on the gas, to pull out of it, and keep going.

And he would come home after teaching all day, and help me with my Math homework.

I hated math, but he was patient, even though I wasn't very nice about it, and sit with me in the basement office, and teach me how to do my math assignments.

He had a way of explaining everything step by step and in complete detail.  

So you could picture the whole process start to finish in your mind.  Like detailed instructions.

He was very good at giving all the details in order, so you could learn.

Coach B....I mean Dad, taught me about every sport.  He played catch with me, told me the rules of golf, and the in's and out's of football.  As he has done for all 5 of his children.

I could probably be and announcer for the NFL.  When I'm watching the games, I'll make a comment, and then the announcer says the very same thing I just said, right after I've said it. 

Yes, my Dad is a Teacher.

And when I was going through my photos and video, to help make Dad's slide show for the viewing, I found a cute little video I had taken just the summer before. 

Dad and my daughter Elle were in the Pool at East Canyon. 

Dad was teaching Elle how to swim Laps.  

He was standing in the pool beside her showing her each movement, and explaining, as he does, step by step.  As you Push your hand forward, and turn your head to the side, the water moves, so you can take a breath.  Your other arm comes up the side of your body, and takes it's place, while your legs are kicking, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ......1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  

He never leaves anything out.  

That summer day, Elle was just swimming with her grandpa.  Getting some fun instruction, so she would be able to swim better.  

Little did she know, she was special, getting personal swim lessons from Coach Belnap!

Even as a grandpa, he couldn't help, but to Teach his grandchildren.

And on a personal note, when I was living at home and dating, my dad had a habit of staying up late nights watching T.V.  I pretty much knew that when I got home he would be sitting in his chair watching something, or sleeping.  

Pretty much every time I would get home from a date, or just being out with friends, I would go see Dad, and give him a kiss on his cheek, and tell him goodnight, before I would head down stairs to my room.  I guess on one particular occasion, I was in a rush, and came in and ran down stairs.  

Dad was concerned that maybe I had done something I wasn't proud of, because he knew I had been out with a boy, and I hadn't kissed him goodnight.  

So he mentioned it to Mom and she told me about it.  Of course, I assured her that everything was fine, and that on a whim, I must have forgotten to kiss Dad goodnight.  

From that time on, I always made sure to let my Dad know that I was home, say goodnight, and kiss him on the cheek before heading off to bed.  

I thought it was cute, that my Dad missed our goodnight ritual.  

But it was probably more like he was worried about me.

Dad would give you the shirt off his back!

He was always doing things for us kids.  

One time, I wanted to go camping in the Tetons with a girlfriend.  

We had another friend who was working at a lodge in the Tetons, and we wanted to camp up there and visit her.  But my friends parents wouldn't let us go, unless she could sleep somewhere that had a locking door at night.

My Dad let me take his truck and camper on a few days trip to the Tetons.  

I can't believe I drove them up there all by myself with my girlfriend along, as probably an 18 or 19 year old.  But my Dad always let us use his stuff.  

He was always sharing with us.  

Yes, my Dad always did so much for his children.  

And, you know what I'm going to say next......

He was a TEACHER!