Happy Birthday to my Daddy!
Today my sweet daddy turned 68 years old. He says he feels 68. I wish he didn’t have to. I wish he could still feel like he was in his 30’s. His heart problems and recent heart surgery probably make him feel his age these days. I am full of celebration today because I am so thankful that he is here for us to celebrate. This week I had to watch my sweet best friend mourn and grieve for her Daddy on his birthday. This was their first one without him and it has only been 4 months since he went to live with Jesus. We talked about him and Cooper asked his daddy if Pop-Pop gets to have a cake in heaven. I told him surely the answer is yes and certainly if there is cake in heaven, it must be chocolate! My daddy would agree, having inherited my love and affection for chocolate from my daddy!
Tonight we are going to drive to daddy’s after dance so we can have dinner with them. Chad and Cooper are finally feeling well enough to be in their normal routine. Cooper was all excited about his first day back being pajama day at Sissy’s. He had on his cute pajamas and his big jacket and Claudia said he looks like a little exercise person. Oh how we laughed over that one. He did! His jacket is big and there are his little tiny legs in those tight pj bottoms along with his New Balance. He looked just like he was headed out for a jog. He was so happy to get to Sissy’s and see his friends. He bounced in just like normal. It makes me feel so much better for everyone to be back to their respective places.
Now, to honor my daddy, here are a few (there are too many to type about) of my favorite memories with my daddy…
Today my sweet daddy turned 68 years old. He says he feels 68. I wish he didn’t have to. I wish he could still feel like he was in his 30’s. His heart problems and recent heart surgery probably make him feel his age these days. I am full of celebration today because I am so thankful that he is here for us to celebrate. This week I had to watch my sweet best friend mourn and grieve for her Daddy on his birthday. This was their first one without him and it has only been 4 months since he went to live with Jesus. We talked about him and Cooper asked his daddy if Pop-Pop gets to have a cake in heaven. I told him surely the answer is yes and certainly if there is cake in heaven, it must be chocolate! My daddy would agree, having inherited my love and affection for chocolate from my daddy!
Tonight we are going to drive to daddy’s after dance so we can have dinner with them. Chad and Cooper are finally feeling well enough to be in their normal routine. Cooper was all excited about his first day back being pajama day at Sissy’s. He had on his cute pajamas and his big jacket and Claudia said he looks like a little exercise person. Oh how we laughed over that one. He did! His jacket is big and there are his little tiny legs in those tight pj bottoms along with his New Balance. He looked just like he was headed out for a jog. He was so happy to get to Sissy’s and see his friends. He bounced in just like normal. It makes me feel so much better for everyone to be back to their respective places.
Now, to honor my daddy, here are a few (there are too many to type about) of my favorite memories with my daddy…
· When he would decide to paint his horse trailer, he and I would hand sand all the old paint off and then he would paint it himself. It was hard and I’m sure I complained but looking back, those are good memories.
· He has two pear trees and he and I would go out there in the fall and pick up the pears that had fallen onto the ground and throw them in the pasture to the horses.
· Every trip I ever took with him to ride horses was special because it was sharing what he loved the most.
· He let my friend, Shenese, come and ride once with us and she had never ridden before. He had the most patience with her and was so sweet to her.
· Helping him feed the horses, walk the fence line, ride on the tractor, I have a million precious memories of me tagging along with whatever he was doing. I was his shadow and I wanted to be right where he was.
· We had a huge Mimosa tree in our front yard and I loved to climb it. It died and he had to cut it down. I was so sad and I remember him comforting me over that tree. That is the sweet memory of the Mimosa tree. The BAD memory is how he hated the pink blooms that fell everyday and he would get Connie and I up early in the summer and make us rake up all the blooms before we could do anything else. Boy, I loved to climb that tree but in the mornings, I hated that tree!
· When I was a cheerleader, he came to every ballgame. He would go to the away games so I would not have to ride the bus back. When he worked nights, he would go in early, leave and drive to the ballgame, and then go back to work. He never missed one that I can recall. He will never know how much that meant to me.
· He was sad the day I graduated from high school and now as a mother, I understand why. His baby was really grown.
· When I leased a duplex in Auburn that was PITIFUL but cheap, he arranged with the owner for some repairs to be done. He even worked with his company and got some new kitchen cabinets for it. Before he was finished, that place looked brand new and the owner told me the rent would go up when I moved out!
· When I was debating where to take a job after college, one within 30 miles of his house and one about 2 hrs away, he was equally supportive of either one and he never tried to influence my decision.
· When I call him on my way to school, he does not say “hello”, instead he says “hey baby” and every single morning, that makes me smile.
There are so many other precious memories swimming through my head right now but I will stop there. My daddy won’t read this. He is anti-technology. He sees no reason for a cowboy to use the Internet. Even though he will not read this, I want to wish him the happiest birthday ever. I love you, Daddy, and I am thankful every single day that God spared your life and let us have you for just a little while longer. I cannot imagine the emptiness that will be in my life when you are not here. I’m so thankful that for now, God has allowed that place to be filled with you! You have been an amazing father and my life is so much better because of you. I love you and I will always be a daddy’s girl!
Author's note...if you noticed the inconsistencies in how sometimes I capitalized Daddy and sometimes I did not, so did I but I'm too tired to go back and make them all match!
