my dad encourages us to "take chances" ....when we were growing up, the neighborhood we lived in had a big hill that my dad deemed "killer hill." you had to be a certain kind of crazy to ride your bike down killer hill. me, being a walking ball of anxiety even then, would never do such a thing. one year when we had snow (aka a light dusting of flurries and lots of ice - ha!) my dad brought out the cookie sheets and convinced us to "sled" down killer hill. and if that doesn't convince you we live in the south, i don't know what will.
my dad knows how to laugh.... when i was in elementary school, we were preparing for supper one night and everyone was hustling and bustling to get the table set. i was not paying attention and on my way to the table, i dropped the bottle of ketchup. somehow, it landed standing up and the ketchup shot straight out of the bottle onto the ceiling. everyone froze. the ketchup dripped down. i could feel my eyes welling up. and then my dad busted out laughing. soon we were all laughing....although i'm pretty sure the next owners of the home didn't laugh over our ketchup stained ceiling as much as we did.
my dad expects the best.... when i was in the 7th grade, i wrote a note to my best friend at school. and is it weird that saying i "wrote a note" now makes me feel old? i guess kids these days probably just text each other - ha! anyway, i know this may be hard for y'all to believe, but when i wrote that note to my friend, i included a not-so-nice sentence about our teacher. and wouldn't you know it, that teacher intercepted the note. what luck. she promptly informed me that i was to take the note home, show it to my parents, and return it to school the next day after they SIGNED IT! yikes. when i showed it to my dad that night, he took it, ripped it into shreds, and threw them in the fireplace to burn. apparently i forgot to mention to him that i was supposed to bring the note back to school the next day. oops. he wrote a note letting my teacher know he had seen THE note, but i'm almost positive he didn't mention that it was now ashes in our fireplace.
my dad stands up for his kids.... when my sister was in elementary school there was this boy that rode her bus and constantly antagonized her. at that time, my sister was going to a special school for children with disabilities, so her little bus would pick her up to take her to her school while my brother and i would ride a different bus to our school. day after day, she'd step off the schoolbus onto our driveway just completely distraught over something this little boy said or did on the ride home. one particular incident that comes to mind involves our beloved nintendo. missie told this little boy all about our nintendo and, being the sweetheart that he was, he would deny it's existence. each day she would become more and more upset over his refusal to acknowledge her nintendo. until one day, my dad decided to take matters into his own hands. he (very courageously) hid in the bushes at the end of our driveway and waited. when that little bus (full of special needs students, mind you) stopped at the end of our driveway, my dad leapt out of the bushes, yelled the little boy's name, and waved that nintendo box over his head like the prize that it was. my sister was overjoyed that her nintendo ownership had been proven and my dad was a hero in her eyes. unfortunately, the department of transportation was not as impressed and proceeded to tell him so in the letter they sent home not long after.
my dad loves God and he loves others.... he is one of the reasons it's so easy for me to view our heavenly father as loving, kind, and compassionate. my dad is selfless, hardworking, and the funniest person i know. i've seen him hold and comfort my girls when they've been sick and make them crazy with laughter when they're around him. i've seen him care for his ailing father and lovingly hold onto memories and the promise that he'll be healed and whole with Jesus one day. i've seen a small glimpse of how much the Lord loves me through the life of my dad.
i love you, dad and i am so thankful that you're not just "the" dad, but you're my dad.
and to Jeffrey, my girls are so blessed to have you as their Daddy. there's nothing that makes my heart happier than seeing their faces light up when you're around. I am so thankful to God for allowing us to partner together in this whole parenthood thing. As Libbi would say, "You're 'da Bess Daddy Ev-ah!" We love you! :)
Happy Father's Day!!
"And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:18
