>Today is my dads 68th birthday... I woke up at 6:30 am and thought about my dad. I'm sure he was probably up but since he is now "retired" (ha ha ha...working more than ever as a contract employee).. I didn't want to take the chance that he may have slept until 7am.
Proceeding on through the day I thought about him and called my mom's cell phone. But no one answered. Hmmm.. I thought. I'll try again later.
Suddenly the day was over and it was 8pm. We left a message on his answering machine singing our birthday love for him without the personal contact of a real LIVE voice. Dang it.
So in his honor.. I'm going to post some really cool things about my dad that are little known.
First... My dad is probably the smartest person I know. He is an engineer and has traveled all over the world. I can thank my dad for the encouragement to finish college. Plus... one day in high school he took me for a drive and told me that he knew I was smart too and that I shouldn't try to hide it.. Imagine that .. my dad thought I was smart!!! It was the best compliment anyone ever paid me... and it made me want to prove to him that I was.
My dad is a really cool grandpa. He always likes to bring projects for the kids when he comes .. like gingerbread houses..cookies to decorate...and he loves to treat the kids to Dairy Queen dilly bars. After every recital or school program in grade school we always were treated to a dilly bar.
Dad is a softie. Whenever he sees a touching movie his eyes leak. And then he will laugh a little. I remember him crying at Little House on the Prairie episodes or just any movie that was the least bit touching. When I saw the movie Despicable Me.. I thought of my dad. I just knew that he would love the minions and he would probably tear up when Gru was reading the story to the little girls.
My favorite childhood memory is of my dad rocking me to sleep, singing an off key lullaby.. like "two little boys" or "fly the ocean in a silver plane".
My dad is a bargain shopper and frugal guy. He made frugal cool before the recession... people. I remember my parents praying over whether or not they should buy our 78 chevy station wagon. I thought this was silly.. but since I drove it many years later and it still ran.. I think maybe the praying was a good thing. Dad's carefulness with money did rub off on most of us kids and for that I am rather grateful.
My dad took me on daddy daughter dates when I was a girl. I remember roasting hot dogs on the beach one date and getting licorice together another time after I tripped down the stairs following a very painful piano performance. I saw the movie "Dune" on a special date with my dad. I was my dad's only daughter... and he really tried to relate to me.. even though I was proud and stubborn and not a nice early morning car guest on the way to seminary.
Lately I have thought about what a great parent my dad has been to the adult me. I guess I sometimes thought that when I turned 18 and left home.. that would be that. Nothing could've ever been further from the truth. My mom and dad both have been so good to me and my family. They have remembered every birthday.. celebrated every triumph with me and been there for the big milestones in my children's lives. And as my dad has aged.. he has gotten to be a more mellow, relaxed FUN guy. I don't think the 40 year old dad would have climbed atop a plastic shark at Kahneeta. But the 68 year old did. And that was fun... and funny.
So happy LATE birthday dad (it's over in 45 minutes).. I really did think of you all day and I'm so glad that you are my dad!
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