My Dad

I love my Dad's laughter.  The way he closes his eyes and tilts his head back.  He has a snicker laughter, and he also has an outburst of happiness in a belly laugh.  He has a wonderful sense of humor and it makes me happy to see him happy.

He is playful.  When I was little and he would take out the trash, he would remove the trash bag from our large kitchen trash can and he would put my sister and I inside the trash can and spin us around, up and down, and around, and around, in the kitchen.  Oh what fun.  He would help Kimberly and I play hide-and-seek, and he would hide us on top of the entertainment center, or on top of the refrigerator.  He would bring large boxes home from work just for us to play in.

He is so kind and so selfless.  Always.  He goes out of his way for others, at any given time.  There are countless times he has driven different distances to bring me something that I have forgotten, or locked myself out of my car.  Even though he's my dad and he's supposed to do those things, he always makes me feel like it isn't an inconvenience at all, even when I know that it is.  I think his love language is Acts of Service.  If it's not, then it's Quality Time. 

I used to go to airshows with him, and spend all day long sitting in a lawn chair, in the scorching summer heat, just to be there with him, and watch the Blue Angels of course.  His love for airplanes and aircrafts is deep.  In a different life, he would have been a pilot, no doubt.  Most of our home videos have at least one airplane in the sky.  On any given family trip, we would always, somehow, find an airport, and we would sit alongside the road watching airplanes take off and land.  He bought a powered parachute and I love the flights I have taken with him.  There is such a sense of peace when you're flying over the treetops through the fresh air.  It's a feeling that cannot be understood unless you experience it yourself.

There were times growing up that he was stern and put his foot down and showed me when he was upset and disappointed.  But, he was always loving.  I never saw him fly off the handle, I never saw him get really, really angry or lose his patience, I never saw him jealous, and I never saw him cause any pain to me or others. 

Happy Birthday to the man I am thankful for every single day.  Happy Birthday, Dad!