My dad

My dad is a wonderful dad. And a wonderful Grandpa. He has been my rescuer my whole life. When I was young, he rescued me from things like storms and the boogeyman and fears over a bad grade. Now that I am almost ... sigh... 31, he is still rescuing me! From storms no less. And from almost burning my house down. My dad is the kind of dad that calls you at midnight to check and make sure you know a bad storm is coming. Then comes all the way across town, with gas prices at almost 4$ a gallon mind you, to save you and your daughter from your basementless house. He is also the kind of dad that you can call and say things like "I think my house is on fire but I am not sure... so I need you to drop whatever you are doing and come over here again and see what is burning..." or "my washer hose is spraying water like a fireman's hose into my kitchen and I need you to bring over every towel you can grab right this very minute..." My dad has fixed countless, countless things on my house and cars and saved us who knows how much money. He always knows just what is wrong and how to fix it. And he never ever complains about all the work he does for us. He even took care of my dog for 2 years so I wouldn't have to put him to sleep!



When I was little, dad was also my encourager. I can remember crying SEVERAL times that I would never ever be able to pass some class or another (dad says I did it in kindergarten even). Dad was always so patient and so encouraging and calmed my fears. And helped me with my homework. And my science projects. He never would just do them for me though! Man! Whatever- make me learn it myself. Geez. Dad instilled in me a love of science (although I never learned to like science projects). All my interest in animals, weather, astronomy, science, learning, etc come from him. I love the fact that I had a dad that is not only intelligent but also interested in everything. Some of my favorite memories of my dad are of him stopping the car on the side of the road to pick up a turtle and take it home, bringing home baby rabbits to take care of so they didn't die, watching the stars, best little donut shop in the world (oops did that one slip in there? hehe!), going to caves, etc.



My dad is very soft-hearted. He takes care of everyone. He loves little kids. He is very sentimental although I am not sure he would like me saying that. He laughs so hard that he starts choking- just like I do. He is kind. He gives good advice and doesn't tell you "I told you so" when you are stupid and don't take his advice the first time. He takes such care of and shows such love to my daughter. He plays with her and reads to her and I can see that he will be such a wonderful influence in her life like he has been in mind. And I know she has a grandfather that will be all the help and give her all the love he has given to me.