Fathers' Day and Dad's Birthday

Well, this is a little late. I wanted to write a little bit about my good ol' pops.

My dad and I were in the newspaper for some festival once.

 My dad has always been one of the most inspirational people in my life. He taught me never to settle--never to take the easy road because it seems more logical. He taught me what a real man looks like. He worked his butt off to give my mom, sister, and me a warm home and food to eat. He was in the navy during the Persian Gulf war. He also let God mold him into someone wise enough to provide spiritual knowledge and wisdom to his children. We are a lot alike, but also very different. Much of my personality-- my hardheadedness, deep thinking (sometimes), and inquisitiveness-- takes after him. Usually, a conversation between my dad and me turns into a debate of some sort, and we've had our share of big arguments, but you know what they say,"Iron sharpens iron."

My parents had me when they were relatively young. My mom was 19 and my dad was 20. Some people see that as too young, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The weird thing is, I actually got to see my parents grow, too! They weren't these untouchable pillars of maturity my whole life. I've watched them grow, just as they've watched me.

I saw my dad's career take off. I remember going to visit him at the Exxon station when he worked third shift. I remember his very first business trip. He brought me and my sister home "Atlanta" t-shirts. And a furby.

I remember right around the time that he found God. We started to go to Fellowship, and I loved going to Sunday school and making new friends (shout out to Sarah and Chrissey). I remember getting angry at my parents when they didn't go to church. I went from all of us living with my grandparents, to living in government provided housing with cement walls (which I have a scar on my forehead to prove), to an apartment, and eventually to a house. I've seen the hard work it takes raising a family, just by growing up in one. My parents always lived openly and didn't keep many secrets from me. If you know my dad, you know he'll tell you how it is when he needs to.

I used to have panic attacks when I was a kid because I was so afraid of things. My dad could somehow always talk me out of it. Every night before bed, he made it a point to read a book with me. He was always so excited to show me a new book. I remember reading a book called "Xanth" with him. I never really understood it, but the fact that he'd read with me was great to me. He would come upstairs and pray with me before bed. He read the first three Harry Potter books to me. We also used to go to a comic book store together pretty often and played Pokemon cards. Now through some of my dad's influence, I've developed a love of reading and writing. Actually, here's a short thing he wrote that he doesn't know I saved, but I did. He wrote it right before I got married to Doug:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Yesterday morning, I was measuring out a few ounces of baby formula. By the afternoon, we were in awe and laughing at Story Land. Last night she graduated high school 2nd in her class. Now today...she's off onto one of the best adventures that life has to offer.

 I dunno, I thought it was very creative.

I love you, Dad! Happy Fathers' Day and happy birthday!