My dad’s upbringing is why he insisted my brother and I get college degrees. Kid brother does what daddy used to, jobwise. We are much more mindful and attentive to stress related health issues though now. And kid brother at least has a college degree to fall back on.
I think it was the stressful job and the stressful childhood that contributed to daddy’s heart condition. NONE of the relatives on either side of his family tree had any sort of heart condition prior to mid 70’s. His dad’s side never had heart conditions. They all died in their mid/late 90’s. A few of them topped out in the 105yrs range. Dad completely changed his lifestyle though. He doesn’t eat enough to ever be completely full, drinks one cup of coffee/day, never smoked. He eats mostly veggies and scrambled eggs in the summertime. The veg from his own garden. He likes to brag ‘grew everything on this plate’ when he eats. When he’s not puttering around some little old lady’s malfunctioning lawn mower he’s on the phone with his younger siblings ‘running their business’. He’s always been the replacement dad in that family. The younger ones don’t remember a time when it wasn’t daddy’s paycheck that bought the food and even the shoes they wore to school.
Sounds like he’s never stopped contributing.
Nice story. My father is 89 and still going strong (after a little heart surgery himself.)