Happy Daddy's Day!

I’m going to be honest. I don’t always get along with my dad. We butt heads a lot. Maybe it’s because I share my birthday with him? My mom scheduled her C-section for the following “Monday” not realizing that it was my dad’s 50^th birthday. It worked out nicely though, I think. 

Still, I love my daddy (what I generally call him) very much and am so thankful that I can call him mine and that I get to spend another Father’s Day with him. 

I turn 30 later this year, and if you do the math, that means he turns 80. Most people my age have grandparents younger than my dad (my husbands’ Grandma is 3 years younger!) and so I take the time I have left with my dad very seriously. I am grateful that I live nearby (literally less than 2 blocks). 

My parents often switched roles of who was the enforcer of rules and who was the friendly parents, and I remember several times that my dad yelled at me, smacked my bottom, or simply got really upset at me – but most of the time he was the one that I snuggled with. He read me stories every night before carrying me to bed. We had a nice blue chair that he sat on and I cuddled on his lap while he read to me – always by 7pm. 

Sorry for the bad quality... really old pictures!

He has been the one (between my parents) who has been willing to give into my whims of getting ice cream or a special snack. He’s the one that fought for me at school (okay, my mom did, too – but I remember him there when we had to get me out of speech classes).  

Because my mom doesn’t drive (or speak English) my dad took me to my doctor’s appointments and got my medicine. I remember when I was in my late teens (I think) I had to have oral surgery which meant that I couldn’t eat anything solid and cold liquids were recommended. My dad dropped me off at home where I lay on the couch and then he went out and got me a vanilla milkshake to make my mouth (and stomach) feel better. 

One thing I feared, having a father that is older, was that he wouldn’t be there to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. It’s one of the reasons I pushed Thomas to get married sooner rather than later. My dad had some health scares over the past couple of years and the fear of him passing before he saw me get married terrified me.  My dad was there to walk me down the aisle this past April 26^th and I am so proud that he was by my side. He likes Thomas very much which makes it so much better. 

Damn those photographers.... but still beautiful.