Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day - you know, the companion to Mother's Day.  H says there needs to be a Kid Day, but I told him that was every day.

I have 2 dads - a Daddy and a Dad.  Daddy is my biological dad and Dad is my stepdad.  Both men are wonderful fathers and they each taught me different things.

Daddy and me

Daddy taught me about fishin', cooking fish, and major tackle box renovations.  He also taught me to drive him down to the  beach when I was 16 and we were both off work for the  day.  Daddy showed me how to parallel park so I could get my driver's license.  We must have parallel parked about 50 times that day and he didn't lose patience.  He taught me about the many things he learned while serving his country in Viet Nam.  "I learned how to do this in the Army" is the phrase that is still heard on a regular basis.  I'm not sure how much of what he said he learned in the Army was actually learned IN the Army or if it was learned through experience and being a NC State Highway Patrolman, but that phrase usually meant that I was either gonna learn something important or it was the beginning of an awesome story.   Daddy taught us all how to swim by throwing us in the shallow end of the  pool and said "swim".  Of course, he was right there beside us, but we did swim.  He attempted to teach us how to dive by standing in the pool, holding our ankles while we stood on the side and said "now jump."  Needless to say, it didn't work, but it was fun anyway.

I am my father's daughter

Some of my most treasured childhood memories are laying in the back of the truck while Daddy drove back from the lake.  I actually got to relive that memory when the family went to the beach for Daddy's 65th birthday a few weeks ago.  It was so fantastic to spend an entire weekend with Daddy and the rest of the  family.  It has been many years since I've done that and H has never done that.  I'm not sure who had more fun fishin' - Daddy, my brother, my niece or H......

Dad and me on his 80th
birthday (4.24.14)

One of the things that Dad taught me was to beware of those indelible mistakes.  He wrote a letter to me when I was in Brazil my senior year of high school reminding me of how much he loved me and to be cautious of those mistakes that I can't take back.  This still sticks with me even as an adult.  He always said that complaining about something or life not being fair was just kinda useless.  He would say "what's this 'fair' shit?  Nobody ever said anything was going to be fair."  He also taught me the importance of the words "just do it."  This could mean a multitude of things but the essence always seemed to be to stop complaining and get on with whatever "it" was that day.  The last thing (literally the last thing - it was just before he went into the nursing home) that Dad taught me was that if I pulled a practical joke on Mommie (the kitchen sink spray nozzle was rubber banded down and she didn't know it and sprayed herself while attempting to wash her hands), I was on my own with that.  But I could sit beside him since Mommie was less likely to get back at me if I was with him.  Dad has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home now.  The last time I saw him, he told me that he was a good secret keeper because "I have Alzheimer's so I'm just going to forget it anyway."

Happy Father's Day to both of my beloved dads.  Without them and their influences - and that of my mothers (Mommie and Lisa), I would not be the woman I am today.

I love you Daddy and Dad!!!!