I really, really hate being away from home on family birthdays. It's pretty much one of the worst feelings ever. But since I haven't done a "Top Ten Reasons Why I Love You" list for my dad yet, here we go!
10. Almost everything my dad buys for us is red. Red boat, red life jackets, red truck, red NC State stickers for your car even if you went to Carolina... (it's still on there, I promise.)
9. Drawings on napkins. If I have a technical question or even one that requires a little more than casual thought, usually at the dinner table, Dad will grab the nearest napkin and the pen in his shirt pocket and diagram it. Without fail. And you know what? It works.
8. -isms. Dad has lots of them. Like, you can't pass him the salt without putting it down on the table first (it's bad luck to pass it in the air), and when he makes spaghetti, the noodles get mixed with the sauce in the pot. Some of these we've adopted, some of them we haven't.
7. Larney, Larney Bear, and Sugar Lump. These are all names my dad has called me since I can remember, and I LOVE them. Love them love them.
6. My hands. I have short, stumpy fingers that aren't the least bit knuckle-y or bony, and they look exactly like my dad's. Consequently, I wear a size 9 ring. I firmly believe most people could get it around their wrists.
5. Oldies. The reason I love Oldies and can sing almost every hit from the '50s, '60s, and '70s is because my dad drove me to school every single day of first grade, ninth grade, and tenth grade with the Oldies (or John Boy and Billy) on the radio.
4. He harmonizes. Dad doesn't just sing to the radio, he complements it. Falsetto is his friend.
3. Crossword puzzles and Jumbles. When I still lived at home, Dad and I did the Saturday newspaper puzzles together every weekend, with a cup of coffee (and Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Chris Fowler if it was fall). He always let me write, but I had to sit on his right so he could still see the puzzle.
2. FOOTBALL. What would I do with my life if both he and my mom hadn't taught me to love it? Grown men tell me all the time that they can't believe they can hold a conversation with me about it, and one coworker even told me that when his team lost this past weekend, he dreaded coming to work on Monday because he knew he would hear about it from me. No matter where we've lived, football games have been part of our lives. And even though I live in DC, GO COWBOYS.
1. He married my mom (who sent me an email last night that pretty much made me weep), and always supports and provides for our family. Even if it means moving to a new city to start working a few weeks before the rest of us arrive. And Leanna and I never have to guess how much we're loved, because we're a family of hugs and "I love you"s.
Dad, I hope you have a marvelous day and that you thoroughly enjoy your presents! Love you SO much!
p.s. It's Reba's 16th birthday! Shut the front door!
No comments:
Post a Comment