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Acceptance, Kindness and Love

Today was the first Father’s Day without the man who I considered a second dad for most of my life.  I was 8 years old (in 1974) when Jimmy and his family moved to the house on the end of Ave. C in Muleshoe.  I didn’t know it then but the day I met his kids playing in their yard would be the day that my life changed forever.  They also didn’t know it but their lives would change forever as well.  I was an only child who quickly became their ‘adopted’ child.  For the rest of my childhood, I was always hanging out with Renee’ who quickly graduated from my friend, to my best friend, to my sister.  For 44 years, I have been so greatly blessed be considered a member of the Jimmy Copley family.  Jimmy & Myra always treated me as one of their own kids.  I’m sure they got frustrated at times with me constantly being around but they never let it show.  As the years passed, I grew to love this family with all my heart.  I’ve always considered the day I met Renee’, Lee, & Carrol one of my biggest blessings in life – one that God intended for me.  When I was young I knew to respect Jimmy & Myra because that was how my parents raised me.  But as the years went by I respected Jimmy because of the man he was.  I learned so much about how a person should lead their life just by watching how he led his.  Perhaps, the best things I learned from my second dad are acceptance, kindness, and love.  He accepted a girl (who initially was just a kid who lived down the street), showed her kindness for a lifetime (when he didn’t have to) and grew to love her just as he did his own kids.  The last time I saw Jimmy I tried to tell him and Myra how they had completely changed my life and how thankful I was for all the blessings and happiness that I wouldn’t have had in my life had if not been for them allowing me to be a part of their family.   Jimmy sat there and listened to me with a smile on his face.  I hope he knew – and knows – how very, very proud I am to be his other ‘daughter’.   

Posted by Donna Crenshaw Perry
Monday June 18, 2018 at 2:10 am
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