Today is my dad's birthday. For the first time ever I am not with him to celebrate it. The hardest part about their move is missing out on birthdays, holidays, and the upcoming Mother's & Father's Days. More than anything I wish I could give my dad a giant birthday hug right now and make him a feast for dinner. But, a phone call will have to do until I head out there next time. I never really do cards for birthdays but I started thinking about all the reasons why my dad is so awesome. All the sacrifices he has made over the years, his kindness, and what I love most about him. I thought it would be fitting to make my own birthday card on here about my one of a kind dad.
My Dad...
...is truly a one of a kind. There is no one like him and I am awfully blessed to have him as my dad.
...has all the attributes of the fruits of the spirit. All of them. They are so hard for me to take on but I glance at him and all I see is love, patience, gentleness, kindness, peace, self-control, goodness, & faithfulness.
...give the best hugs you will ever have. In fact, to this day if I am around him you will most likely find me wrapped up in a bear hug from him
...lets me call him 18 times a day for reasons such as, " Had to tell you something quick!" or " Guess what?" or simply to say "Hi". Never once has he sounded annoyed by the multiple calls.
...used to let me tottle around behind him throughout the house as he fixed things. He taught me which tools were which and never seem irritated when I got in the way. ( Which I am sure I did many, many times)
...makes the best waffles you will ever have. I used to love waking up on Saturday mornings to the smell of freshly made waffles drifting up the stairs towards me. He still makes them when I come visit. Now he needs to give Trav his secret recipe!
...called me his " legally blonde" in his speech at our wedding. But aside from all the pink, the blondeness, and silliness he still pushed me to do the best I could in school. ;)
....speaking of school, he knew long before I did that I was meant to be a nurse. He never once let me give up but kept pushing me till I reached my goal. Hearing his voice when I told him I passed my boards will be something I remember forever for we traveled that road together.....and was it ever a battle!
...texts me to say," how is my favorite nurse today"
...taught me how to throw a football with a perfect spiral. And taught me how to shoot a basket which earned lots of practice time at the LHS gym together. Because of him I will rarely miss a free throw shot leading him to tell Trav that we should settle our disagreements on the free throw line ;)
...surprised me at my wedding with lighting up our whole ball room with pink lights. I had no idea until they opened the doors for us to go in.
...has always let me cry or vent whenever needed. While he may be used to all the drama from 4 daughters growing up, there is still something about his calm presence that just makes everything better.
...is a rock. A man of faith and head of the household, I grew up praying I would be blessed with a man like my dad. He set the bar high for us girls when choosing a husband & we all wanted someone like our dad.
...served in Vietnam. He will play it off like it was nothing big but words can't say how proud I am to share with others what he did for our country. He is brave and admirable. His stories are incredible & I could listen to them for hours.
...has never said " I want..." Never. In all of my 25 years of living I have never heard those words come out of his mouth. On birthdays and Christmases we always ask him what he wants. The same reply every year is, " I don't want anything. I have everything I need." A gift to him is having our whole family sitting around the table, laughing and talking over one another as we reminisce. He doesn't need the "stuff" or the "things".
...took me to football games with him at an early age and patiently explained the game to me. From 3rd grade to just recently, Friday nights were spent at LHS games, arms raised as we cheered the team on. Because we shared this, football easily became my favorite sport to watch & I love sharing it with my dad.
...is the most thoughtful person I know. He is always thinking of others. His acts of kindness are not to get praise nor would he boast about them. From slipping packs of gum into my purse before I set out on a plane ride or on a drive, or making sure my favorite soda and coffee is at his house when I come visit is just a few of the many little gestures he does to show he cares. They are never overlooked, Dad. Thank you for everything.
...can make me cry by looking at me wrong. I never wanted to disappoint him. He never yelled growing up but that tone or that look where you knew you screwed up was enough to do me in.
...never had a son but is the best dad to daughters you could ever imagine. While he taught me sports, he always would sit down to play "Little People" or house. He would blow dry my hair for me to make it straight because I hated my rat's nest of curls on my head.
...has sacrificed so much for all of us. He gave up a lot of his time to drive us to sporting events, late night play rehearsals, friends houses and he never missed a game, a concert, a show, or anything.
...watched the real people Batman with me on Saturday mornings. I thought it was the coolest thing.
...rubbed my back every night before I fell asleep from age 2 to...well, some nights in high school! Between him and my mom they would switch off coming into my room to pray with me and than he would scratch my back till I fell asleep. I owe you about 100000 back rubs, Dad!
...always challenged me to be different and not settle for something that is easy. In 4th grade we had the mission projects. I wanted to do a gold mine. Not as easy as buying a mission kit from Michel's. But, my dad helped me build the coolest gold mine and while I am sure at times he wished it was a mission not a build from scratch gold mine, he never showed it to me!
...loves me even when I am moody., sarcastic, and impossible to deal with. He is a constant encourager, motivator, and a huge support.
...is one of my best friends.
Dad,
I wish more than anything I was celebrating in person with you today. But I am sending one ginormous hug through this blog to you. While I know I am not good at saying what I feel I will always say this. It meant something at age 5 and now at 25 it still comes from the bottom of my heart.
" I love you super duper bunches, whole lots of love!"
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Emma ( #4....aka the favorite ;)
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