A Tribute to my Dad

My dad with my son

In celebration of my dad's 60th birthday, I'm dedicating this post to him. Sure I could get him a nice Hallmark card with just the right amount of mush and sappyness, but that would be far too easy, and wouldn't do justice to the awesomeness that is my dad.

My dad's "recipe" is this: an overabundance of generosity and warmth, overflowing amounts of patience and tolerance, (thanks for seeing me through the adolescent years), and a super supply of kindness.  When you ask anyone about my dad, they always say how NICE he is.  I've never heard anyone say anything bad about my dad.  That is pretty amazing. 

My dad taught me how to play basketball, playing HORSE and 21, and other games I can't remember the names to.  He took me out for my first Happy Meal (and led me to my lifelong addiction to McDonalds french fries).  He got me my first bike and taught me to ride it (no thanks to my older sister who pushed me down my grandparent's driveway).  He introduced me to his favorite music and to this day I still love the harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, Herman's Hermits, and Billy Joel, just to name a few.  He contributed to my love of shoes, buying me not one, but two pairs of Converse, (one black pair, one peach) that I wore until I could wear them no more.  He traveled across state lines, through snow and rain, to come and pick me up for my weekends with him, always stopping to get us a treat for the trip (what's a road trip without a bottle of pop and a candy bar, right?).  For every amazing thing he is as a dad, he's all that and more as a grandpa, playing countless games of random who-knows-what with my kids, throwing toys down the laundry chute and scurrying up 3 flights of stairs to do it all over again, pretending to be a grizzly bear, and just holding the babies and rocking with them, instilling in them his calmness and relaxing nature.

So thank you dad for being the awesome dad and grandpa that you are!  I hope to be half the parent you were and still are to me.  <3