My parents raised every one of us to be independent people.
They didn’t want us to be ourselves and never be a follower.
My parents worked hard to give us everything we needed. They wanted us to always be a family and be persons the family could depend on. We always did things together. If mom wanted to go grocery shopping, either all of us, or just the girls went with her. We would stay home with dad. I used to follow dad whenever he was home. He taught me how to be handy and take care of the home. I never saw my dad come home, grab a beer, and sit in front of the television. I knew some of my friends’ fathers did that. My mom was always making something or working on some kind of craft for family gifts. I loved working with my dad. Whenever something was broken, he would put it back together. If there wasn’t anything broken, he would find something to build that would make our life easier. The only thing dad refused to work on was the furnace or air conditioning unit. He told me that if you tried to repair your own HVAC system, you could nullify the warranty. He told me there are some things that should be left to the professionals. HVAC is one of those things. I still try to emulate my dad in my everyday life. I take care of my family and we do things together. I still don’t touch the HVAC, unless it’s the thermostat. I learned well from my father.