By Karin Fields
When I saw the theme for May’s blog it took me about one millisecond to figure out who I would write about. My dad, Fred Fields, passed away on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 5:36 am. The exact moment he took his last breath will be etched in my mind forever. Thankfully I was holding his hand and my beautiful daughter Sami was holding his other hand as we recited the Shema, the holiest of Jewish prayers. It has only been a year and I still get teary eyed thinking about him. You see I had the best dad in the world. He was everything a person would want in a father. He was loving, kind, funny, strong, supportive, caring, humble, able to fix almost anything, and cried at the heartwarming scenes of a Disney movie. Most importantly, he loved me unconditionally.
My dad was a real character. Who else teaches 5-year-olds how to add and subtract through playing blackjack? He told the same corny jokes, not for years but for decades and made them just as funny as if it were being told for the first time. My friends adored my dad and loved congregating at my house. I wasn’t surprised when I learned several of my guy friends would stop by my house to hang out with my dad long after my sister and I had gone off to college.
He was the consummate teacher/storyteller. I loved learning from him. He made history and the Bible come alive. He used to say he should have been a teacher, and I agree. He could make any topic interesting and engaging. But he did more than teach me about the past; he also taught me about morals and values. I remember one time a young server gave him $1 too much change. He turned the car around to take it back. I was maybe 12 or 13 years old at the time. I was like, “Dad, it’s only a dollar?!?!” He replied, “Integrity is something no one can ever take away from you.” Even as a teenager I felt proud and humbled at that moment.
I also remember the day I gave birth to my first child, his first grandson. Funny enough, my son Matt looked strikingly like my dad. Everyone was bringing baby gifts to the hospital, but not my dad. He brought me a T-shirt from my college. It was because he wanted to do something for me. He didn’t want it to be a “mommy” gift, he wanted it to be a “Karin” gift. Another memory etched in my mind forever. And here’s the most amazing thing, I am blessed to have thousands of those memories.
My dad had many favorite sayings that my family calls “Bobumisms.” Bobum was the name given to him by Matt. Grandpa or granddaddy was just too ordinary a name for such an extraordinary grandfather. Bobum was unique and special, just like my dad.
My favorite Bobumism: while scratching my back, he would say, “Karin, I love you in spite of everything. And in your case, that’s a lot of in spite of.”
I am the person I am today because of my dad.
About the Author
Karin Fields, an award-winning, 20-year veteran of the telecom and cloud industries, is CEO/COO of MicroCorp, a leading master agent and distributor of commercial data, voice, UC and data center services. Fields also is Chair of The Alliance Partners, two-time recipient of CRN Women of the Channel, a founding member of Alliance of Channel Women and a recipient of ACW’s 2017 LEAD Award.