I know I haven't updated the blog in a while and have a full update written but I decided to publish something else today. . .
You see, today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 77 this year. Nope, not talking about my grandfather. . .though a lot of people mistook us for grandfather/daughter. It's funny how offended I used to get when people thought my dad was my grandfather. Legend says that I punched a little boy in my CCD class after the boy asked me if my dad was my grandfather. Secretly, I think that was a proud moment for my dad as I don't ever remember getting in trouble for it.
My dad and I had a very special relationship. Many people claim that they have/had a special father-daughter relationship but I am confident that none was more special than mine. My dad taught me what love means, what sacrifice looks like, and how a man should treat a woman. When I was little, my dad told me that I was the angel that he and my mom prayed for. . .and his love proved to me how much he believed that to be true. I remember my dad coming home for lunch to spend 30 extra minutes of his day with me. Once I started school, my dad prepared a bowl of cereal and left it on my desk for me to eat before heading to school. He waited for my school bus at a bus stop near his office so he could wave to me before he headed into work and my school bus continued en route to school. My dad traded his promotion to sleep on the floor while I was in the hospital awaiting my surgeries. For long car rides, he turned the backseat of our Volvo into a suite using pillows and blankets so that I would be comfortable. Spoiled some might say, but these were ways my dad showed me love and how an angel should be taken care of.
My dad always made me feel wanted and I loved his company too. I loved going to my dad's softball games and playing in the pond next to the field looking for frogs. Going to the library meant more than watching my dad read his newspapers off long wooden sticks (remember those?) and checking out books. . .it meant spending a Saturday afternoon with my dad. I was embarrassed by my dad's singing but I tagged along with him every Wednesday so we could eat dinner at Burger King and go to his choir practice together. Our daddy/daughter dates to the zoo was something I looked forward to even when I came home from college. Our bond was special and thicker than any blood and
stronger than any glue.
There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss my goofy, lovable dad. I miss the silly man who told his friends that he and my mom would be staying at my dorm to save money when they made the trip to my college graduation. . .I think/hope he was joking though I'll never know for sure since he died just months before my graduation. I miss our daily phone calls, his little coded notes, and his bear hugs. I wish he was still alive so I didn't have to miss him.
Last night, hubby asked me what characteristics my dad had that he doesn't. Sure, my dad & hubby share many things. . .from their love for the Red Sox to their preference for walking/public transportation but they share more similarities than that. I sat quiet while trying to think of something and realized how much my hubby is like my dad. . .at least in the way he loves me. For a long time, I didn't think I would marry because my dad had set such high standards for love and how I should be treated. I didn't ever think it would be possible for any man to come close to my dad. . .an unfair standard I set for myself. However, each day, my hubby shows me that yes, it is possible to be loved as if I am an angel sent from God.
As the baby grows inside of me and we await the baby's arrival in a few months, I wish my dad was still here with us physically. He was so amazing with babies/children and they loved him right back. Though my dad isn't here on earth, I hope that our baby/ies will know him through our love.
Happy Birthday Daddy. . .hope you're celebrating your beautiful life today.
