One student’s tribute to his father’s quiet consistency
by Blake Childers
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Sometimes small things do add up.
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As he walked past his nightstand, this Dad dropped the spare change from his jeans into a small, ceramic piggy bank. Painted on the snowy colored swine were blooming dogwoods surrounded by illustrations of sunshine that kissed the flowers as they rose for a new morning. The hog’s likeness was a stark contrast to the scene outside.
The power had been out for a few days, and my family was adjusting not only to the white sheet of snow that covered most of the Southeast, but also to a newborn. It was the blizzard of 1993, and the only light that crept through the house was from the quickly melting candles around the house. Nevertheless, one part of my father’s routine did not change.
Since the day I was born, my father has been dropping his leftover coin into the piggy bank every night before he sleeps. The pig is not large, only about the size of a baseball. My father has pushed countless coins through that thing over the years. He grew up in a household of 14 brothers and sisters, sleeping in cramped beds and often going without. Part of his inspiration must be to provide a better life for me. For him, loose change isn’t trivial. Growing up, that change could have bought food or kept the power running. When you grow up with almost nothing, you appreciate small blessings and you more fervently cherish those close to you.
Ridiculous?
Having witnessed him dumping the pig’s contents into plastic bags numerous times; I would look the other way, uninterested. Perhaps I was a bit harsh on my father, but it seemed ridiculous to me for a grown man to keep a piggy bank. I actually poked fun at him a few times for it.
“Playing with your piggy bank, Dad?” I said.
“It’s actually yours,” he replied. “You’ll understand one day.”
Although I do not completely understand, I can now see what motivates him. I can only imagine what he thinks when he drops off his change: “What is my boy doing with his life? What will he become? How have I done as a father?”
The fact that he has never gone without investing in that bank tells me that he has never stopped believing in me, even in tough times when I did not think I could accomplish anything. There was always the piggy bank, a constant reminder of who is unquestioningly supporting me.
Paying him back
I want to pay him back, but not with money. That would be like paying off a loan. A better way to repay him is to put that money to work, make him proud. He wants nothing more than to see me graduate and get into a career in which I am happy. To have a life in which I do not have to worry about finances and other problems; a life where I can enjoy myself. I want to continue to grow into a respectable person that he can be proud of. He has helped me grow, and never once did he withhold a penny.