Happy Father's Day

I hope you all had a great father's day. Some of my fondest memories of my dad:

Eating popsicles with him and my brother Nathan when I was little.

Sneaking to the parking lot with all three of us kids in tow when it was icy. Mom used to hate us doing donuts, but dad did them anyway.

My dad is a handy man. I am always asking him for help around the house or to fix something broken. I did not even realize that all guys do not possess this handyman gene. I could bring him almost anything and he could fix it like new.

The day I got married. My dad teased me for months that he would do a happy dance down the aisle. The actual day of my wedding, my dad was emotional all day. Walking me down the aisle, giving Josh my hand, kissing my dependence on him as the man in my life goodbye.

My grandpa had a cottage on Hess Lake. It did not matter how many friends I took along or how long we wanted to tube or ski. Dad drove the boat, catering to our liking. He never complained about driving or the hot sun...only now that I have my own kid do I realize what a sacrifice it was to give up his free day to make ours fun.

Flying home when my grandpa died. My grandpa was my hero- actually a lot of people's hero. One of those great men- worked tirelessly for the homeless, did everything for his family, used his life's savings to bring his family joy. He had that special quality of making everyone feel like you were his favorite. I was devastated when he died as it was very unexpected. I flew home and stepped off the plane to my awaiting parents. My dad had tears in his eyes. I had such respect for him because he did not try to hide his feelings.

He always gave me the frosting off his cake, still does.

I remember as a child, the place we went camping had a big hill. I fell down and was embarrased because a couple of friends were along. I remember my dad asking me if I wanted to hold his hand. He probably does not even remember it, but I remember telling him no and then later being so upset that I missed the chance to hold his hand.

Above all, I am so thankful I was blessed with such a great dad. Not everyone is so fortunate to have someone who wanted to be such a large part of their kid's life.