Dad's Day

Usually, for Father's Day, we'd all gather at my parent's house where mom feeds us sweets and we give Dad gift certificates to Barnes and Noble that remain in his wallet for months unused. But not this year! Ohhhh no.. He couldn't resist the call of the open road.

So for Father's Day 2010, dad was doing this:



Instead of this:



But, I suppose he deserves it. After all, he did a pretty good job raising us.

There was only one time I can recall that Mom wasn't around to get us ready for school, and I made it there before realizing that my hair wasn't brushed. I was still too young to wield a comb myself, and I guess it didn't occur to my dad.. the barber.. that it needed combed for my school day.

But there was also the time that I had my little suitcase all packed and ready to go to Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa and he reached down to hug me and handed me a twenty dollar bill so I could have my own spending money on our trip. It was the most money I'd ever had in my paw up to that point and it was a huge deal to me.

He was also always there to walk me clear across the street to Grandma and Grandpa's to spend Friday nights eating popcorn with apple slices and catching lightening bugs. I was scared a wolf or a zombie was going to jump out from behind one of their huge trees and get me, so he always walked with me and tried to assure me nothing would eat me until I was within the porch light of the farmhouse and could run myself to safety.

It's always him I call when life is falling apart because no one can reassure me like my dad does. No one's hugs are quite as safe, and he always knows just what to say. Even if I just need to hear "It's going to be ok", because I know when it's coming from him, he'll make sure that's the truth. He's always encourages me and made sure Tanner and I know how much he loves us and that he's proud even if we've messed up.

That kind of unconditional love is what makes my father my dad.