So I was a bit freaked out Monday night, but after talking to people who have either had or know people who’ve had bypass surgery, it’s a pretty common thing with very high success rates. I still have yet to hear from my Dad, but I’m assuming that no news is probably good news at this point.

It hit me hard to know my Dad was at a point where he was basically taken down. My Dad is a workhorse, and has always been the best example I could ever have about work ethics. Not only does he work hard, he works hard at being the best at what he does, and is smart about it. I’m sure that having to stop to have some maintenance done is difficult for him. Heck, when I talked to him Monday night I had to chastise him for talking about a project we’re working on.

My Dad has also been the perfect example of patience for me. There was no testing his patience as a kid – it was practically infinite. We gave up pretty early on trying to push his buttons because there were none to push. Once, my brother and I went to go pick up some burgers from the local burger joint, and we convinced the cook that we’d take all the blame from our Dad if he placed a plastic lid of a cup in the burger. It had been a hard day of work, and we really wanted a good reaction from my Dad for this prank. We took the burger to him, he bit into it, pulled the lid out with his bite, pulled it from his teeth, set it down, and continued on, as if nothing had happened.

I’m happy to say that some of that work ethic rubbed off on me. I still complain, and get lazy, but for the most part, I work hard if for no other reason than that’s what my Dad would have me do. And regarding patience – I can’t say it’s been pushed to the limits yet, but I know I have the capacity. We’ll see what happens when my kids are teenagers.

Thanks to all who have expressed concern. Weblogs are a pretty special thing. To be able to speak my mind, and then have strangers express their feelings on what I’m feeling is profound; a feeling that’s hard to describe.