Saturday, June 16, 2012

top 10 about my dad



10. He has always encouraged a wide vocabulary and pronounces "museum" like "myoo-zim."

9. He is fascinated by science and anatomy and when I was five, he dissected a frog (he had ordered by mail) on my cousins' kitchen table so we could all see. I think this fascination with medicine is what has motivated his freakish physical fitness at this point in his life. The man is an animal.

8. When he's about to tell a really good story, or share an idea for a family trip or adventure, his voice gets a little breathy, and we all half-hyperventilate with anticipation.

7. He loves discussing mergers, acquisitions, and bodily functions. Sometimes in the same conversation (but probably not with clients?).

6. I have never doubted for a second that he loves my mom more than anything. Us/his parents/his siblings close behind.

5. He has taught me the value of always trying harder. And keeping a sense of humor.

4. He should write a book on how to make the greatest Christmases of all time. I have inherited his love of lights, traditions, priming the expectation pump (steering my children in the direction of the gifts they want most, then assuring them it would be an impossibility, then fulfilling those dreams) and a gift spreadsheet.

3. He is the voice of reason, constant and compassionate, and gives me confidence in myself.

2. He always made time for me, whether it was taking me for walks, helping me win the science fair, explaining math concepts and making me re-explain them back so he knew I understood, or carrying out a rocking chair to our back lawn in the middle of the night so we could watch a lunar eclipse.

1. He has always made me feel like his life is better because I am his daughter. He wrote to me every week of my first three years of college (before there was email) and always closed with telling me he thought I was great (or some equal synonym). The only times he has ever (inadvertently) made me sad is when I felt I was letting him down.

He's the kind of dad that makes you say, "I have the best dad," and then feel sorry for everyone else. He's the kind of dad that makes you proud to say, "That's my dad!" (except for those gecko pants in 1987) He's the kind of dad that makes you smile when he answers the phone. He's the kind of dad that makes you wish you lived closer so you could hug him more.

I need more than a top 10, or even a top 100, list of why I celebrate my dad on Father's Day. Is one day enough? No. But I guess the true homage is that I try to replicate a lot of the things my dad with me. I still call my dad and ask for his advice, and I anticipate decades more of this (sorry, Dad). I also anticipate decades more of gatherings, stories, and a whole lot of laughs.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you crazy much.

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