Profoundly Jadoosh

Today your Grandpa Anthony Walter Zimanek is 75 years old!  Your Daddy thinks it's pretty cool that Grandpa, he and Ayla are all exactly 25 years apart. Which is interesting cause that means so are Grandpa Lauritzen, me and Ayla all 25 years apart. Daddy said Ayla needs to keep that tradition going and have a baby exactly nine months after the wedding (to which Ayla responded " Um, no.")

Next Sunday the Iowa and Illinois Zimaneks will be getting together to celebrate Jadoosh's 75th. We will get to celebrate with him when he comes to visit next weekend with cousin Ron Grygiel (who celebrated his birthday yesterday!) From the guy who always said, "I have nothing profound to say, but only that I love you," Grandpa always has something to say ... some piece of advice, some new joke, some testimony about the Lord, some old story to share. So that being said, I asked Daddy to share what he has learned about life and marriage from his father. This is what he had to say.

• Grandpa has always set goals for himself for self-improvement. Hanging right there above the toilet in the basement, a new list would be posted at New Years. 
• He loves the Lord and there was no question worship was always important. He didn't miss a Sunday or holiday for worship.
• He's an amazing cook - especially with meat. Best steak I (Mom) ever had was one (okay, two in a row) he made. And we all know how amazing his meatloaf is. 
• He plans everything. Gotta have a plan. Your Daddy got that honest.
• He is always on time ... early even. Promptness is very important. 
• He planned separate special trips with each of his boys. Daddy recalled them going to a boxing match together, and Uncle Scott and Grandpa biked from Sturgeon Bay to Giles Rock in Door County. Daddy enjoyed this special one-on-one time with him.
• He's very healthy. He wasn't always that way. He has shared that he was a sickly little child when the family lived in Chicago, which is part of the reason why Great Grandpa Anton and Great-Grandma Veronica moved to the Wisconsin farm of her parents to get him in some fresh air and outdoors. And there was a time when Daddy was young that Jadoosh went in for surgery that kept him out of commission and work for several months. Daddy said he grew up instantly during that time and Busha then had to work full time to support the family. But today he is very healthy. He does exercises every day and his muscles are hard as rocks. He looks into ways to keep himself healthy and applies it.
• He is the great delegator. Working in supervision at Oscar Meyer for years, that was his forte, and he's excellent at divvying up the jobs and making sure things get done.
• He works his butt off and expects others around him to do the same. He's renowned for his work ethic at Walmart in his retirement years. Daddy said he insisted his sons not make mistakes to avoid having to repeat the job over.
• He loves sex (this is your Daddy talking). And he has only ever been with one woman. It was his public displays of affection that started your very private Busha saying, "To-nee."
• Speaking of Busha, Jadoosh weeps when he speaks about his love for his wife. There is no doubt how much he loves and appreciates the amazing wife he married nearly 54 years ago.

Ayla and Anton - you come from good stock. Praying you can incorporate the good qualities of your grandparents into your lives and marriages. Happy 75th Birthday, Jadoosh! We don't have anything profound to say, but only that we love you.

Discussion: Share a memory you have of Grandpa Z. What are something things above you can learn from?

Prayer: Dear Father God, we thank you for Anthony Walter and his years of serving You. We pray for his continued health and lots more profound things to say. In Jesus, Amen.