My Dad

In honor of Father's Day, which was yesterday, I thought I would post about my dad. First, as I have said before, he is a gem of a man.

I'll describe him for you so you get an idea of my dad. He is not a tall nor short man, 5 foot 11. He is broad in the shoulders. He has a 'trucker belly' he doesn't drink but his belly resembles a beer gut. He keeps his head closely shaven to hide that he is starting to bald. He has hazel eyes, that are often blue and sometimes green. He has a deep bellowing voice that changes to an even deeper tone when he is angry. And, he has the heartiest, warmest laugh. He is aging gracefully and is still handsome.

While I didn't 'marry my dad' in the sense that I married someone like him, I married a man with the same humor and work ethic as my dad.

My dad is a trucker. He has always worked hard. He'd drive all week and then come home on a friday night, pack the car and drive us to the beach for the weekend because he thought it'd make us happy. My sister and I followed dad around like little puppies, doing anything he asked of us. I learned to change the oil in my car, drive, drywall, build a barn, roof a house and shoot from my dad. I also learned to laugh. My mom isn't one to laugh a lot. She has gone through more than the average person can stand, and so laughing isn't something she ever learned, but my dad! Boy can he make us laugh.

One of the many of my fond memories was a short, week-end camping trip to the mountains. We took our three younger cousins and two neighbor kids with us because my dad thought they'd all enjoy a camping trip. The trip was simple, we set up our camp and got a fire going. We went swimming at the lake till it was dark and then we toasted marshmallows and made up songs to the ones on the radio. My dad made up the funniest song, I can't remember the words now, but I remember laughing so hard I cried. I remember my cousin laughing so hard she peed herself and the two neighbor kids begging to be invited to go camping again.

See, it wasn't the song that was important - it was the laughter. My dad got animated when trying to make us happy. He would run around the camp donning a pretend cape and a microphone. He'd start to belt out a song and get us to give him words, then he'd serenade us all with the funniest lyric ever created, Weird Al had nothing on Dad. We didn't roll our eyes with embarassment, we pretended to be fans and shouted more! more! Then we'd throw marshmallows or sticks at him at the end. We each took our turns with the songs, we were up all night laughing. The next day my side hurt so bad I could barely sit in the car on the trip home.

Most weekends were like that with my dad. Simple, entertaining, memorable. To this day, I go to my dad with every issue I have. Sometimes it irritates my Better Half, but I have noticed that he now does the same thing!

You know you are loved when you are in my dad's company. That is just how he is. You never leave his company without a smile on your face, and you always feel welcome to return. I was the envy of all my friends, and still am.

How much does dad love us? When I went into labor with my son, my dad was on the road working about 900 miles away. He was at the hospital to meet my boy a mere 8 hours after he was born though. He drove all day and night to meet him. Today, "PaPa" is absolutely the most important person in my boy's life second only to me of course.

I wish you all could meet my dad because writing it down here just doesn't do him any justice. You would walk away calling him "Uncle Joe" just like everyone else. As I said, a gem among men, sure to turn whatever is ailing you into a smile! Happy Father's day Daddy!