Daddy

Today is my Daddy's 60th birthday. I always remember growing up we would tease Daddy about how old he was...cause he was just well you know old..lol. Now that I am older though and Daddy is 60, I look back and cherish those years and pray that I will have many more years to enjoy spending time with my him.

My sister wrote a post about her memories of our Dad. He is a very special man. He was always there for us when we needed a shoulder to cry on. He hated seeing us cry and hated when we got upset. He did discipline us when we needed it. I remember when we would do something that we werent supposed to, he would call us in the living room and ask us what we had done and then he would tell us to turn around and he would whip us with his belt...(not beat, never beat. just one swat with the belt.) then he would pull us in for a hug and tell us how much he hated to do that. He did not like to have to get on to us..it always made hime cry. I think he cried harder than we did.

I remember Daddy getting up so early so he could try to be the first one in the woods to get his truck loaded (he was a chip truck driver .....) because if he was the first one in, he would get more loads in which meant more money so we wouldn't go hungry. Rarely ever in the winter time, did he make it home before dark. But come spring and summer, he was usually home and played basketball with us for a couple of hours.

I remember riding on the tractor with him when I was little while he was brush hogging the pasture. Thinking I was everything because my daddy was the greatest. I remember going to feed cows with him and when I got old enough to take over that chore, he would come out and help me bust the bales of hay for them no matter how much he hurt.

I remember when I was in Junior high and high school, after he had to quit driving the truck, Julie played basketball and had to be at practice by 7 in the mornings. The school bus ran at 7 so daddy stayed home with me while mom took Julie to practice. I remember growing so close to Daddy during those years because he would always ask me before I left for school if I needed anything. And we always gave each other a hug and told each other we loved them.

I remember being able to call Daddy anytime we needed anything at school and he would drop whatever he was doing and bring whatever it was to us.

Me being the tomboy of the bunch, and the last girl, got to do alot of outside stuff with him. We went to team ropings, and rodeos, and hauled hay, and went to horse sales and cow sales. We had a lot of time to talk. But Daddy and I didnt talk much. Mostly, we just sat in silence and enjoyed being with each other. But when I did need to talk, he would talk. When I needed to cry, he would hold me.

I remember him telling me when I was crying over a guy(several times in my life) That they werent worth it. I didnt need to be crying over them because they werent worth it. I was better than that. That made me feel so good for my daddy to tell me that I was better than how they treated me.

I know that most important of all, was the feeling that no matter what we did in life, no matter how bad we messed up, we always knew that we could come back home to daddy (and momma) and they would welcome us with open arms and a loving heart. They never told us we couldnt come home. Kind of like our heavenly father, no matter how far away from him we go, he will always let us come back home to his open arms.

Julie thanked daddy for all the things he did for her in her life. I have alot of the same memories. Teaching us to play basketball, teaching us to play jacks...lol. letting us clean his truck on saturdays, taking us to Church on Sunday's, holding us when we hurt, teaching us to ride our bikes....and picking us up when we fell, killing the snake that decided it wanted to live under our tire swing....helping momma teach us how to grow a garden, teaching me how to ride a horse, letting me have to responsibility of the outside chores...to this day, I still love being outside more than in. Teachin me how to drive a four wheeler, and forgiving me when I put dents in it. Thank you Daddy for walking me down the aisle (finally..lol) and for being there when I had my babies. It meant alot just to know you were there. Thank you for being a friend to my husband, he really looks up to you for alot of things. Thank you for worrying about me when I didnt come home on time :) and for when I had to drive in the snow and ice to get to work. And for taking care of me when I was sick. Thank you for teaching me about God and for teaching me to pray.

I just cant say enough about him. But he knows that we love him, he knows that we appreciate all these things. I pray that I have many more years with him. I want my babies to enjoy their Poppy as much as I enjoyed my Daddy. We LOVE YOU POPPY and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I wish i had a scanner, I would post some pictures of our dad and us. Oh well maybe another day.