happy late father's day gpa dave!

i remember . . .

1. burning my foot in the bathtub as a small child and my dad rushing in and putting my foot in the toilet to cool it off.
2. dave's perms.
3. the day dad brought susie home to us.
4. the bmx bike dad bought me after i had my appendix removed. i was a bit of a tomboy as a kid.
5. bike rides to frosty's freezer.
6. motorcycle rides to the neighbors house, two doors down.
7. the lightning bolt shoes. i hated those things.
8. dad's workshop in the house on 500.
9. learning to put english on the ball, shooting hoops on the court in the back yard, shooting left handed layups.
10. dinner with nothing to drink. not even water.
11. the silver oldsmobile of gpa curly's that dad drove forever.
12. the day he got a crew cut. bad call.
13. listerine and the floss picker things on dad's shelf in the bathroom.
14. the hooded robe and tall, wool slippers.
15. never, never going to the mcdonald's drive through when dad was in the car.
16. plaid dress shirts for work.
17. the pontoon.
18. having the fire department come to the house to fill up the swimming pool.
19. tball games and softball games at the selma diamonds. dad was at every one.
20. the silver mongoose bike.
21. vball tournaments in louisville, chicago, orlando, austin, san jose, denver, kalamazoo, st. louis, philadelphia, oh philadelphia. i think that was my first trip to a tournament with dad as my only chaperone. he cried when i made the all-tournament team.
22. he cried a lot. every time we won a really big game or i played really well.
23. going to dunham's to buy the red daryl strawberry mitt.
24. taking a drink of his milk only to discover it was buttermilk.
25. friday night dinner at pizza hut or ponderosa.
26. gray and white hair. has it ever been any other color?
27. dad bailing me out time and again.
28. dad and mom taking us for weekend stays with the aunties.
29. the spiders at the lake house at lake of the ozarks.
30. wrecking the mower into the shed in the backyard and not telling anyone. oops.
31. the softball shorts he used to wear when he coached our ball teams.
32. videotaping everything - even our elementary school musicals and megan's concert choir events.
33. cowboy boots.
34. the 50 copies of the national high school sports magazine sitting in my closet. he ordered a case when i was chosen as an all-american by the magazine.
35. unbelievable seats at larry's game when i was a kid.
36. dad fixing anything and everything. i miss this on almost a daily basis.
37. driving 55 on 465.
38. dad always pulling on my feet when he walks by.
39. the thunderbird that he loved and the phantom of the opera soundtrack he played in it all the time.
40. mom told us that someone once asked dad if he was disappointed that he had three girls. he answered, "why would three beautiful, healthy daughters ever be a disappointment?"

meg and weed, it's your turn. what do you remember about dad?

i love you. i am glad you are who you are. and though it's been a struggle at times, it is worth it.