Last Saturday (August 15th) was my Dad's birthday. He would have been 47 years old....I just wanted to post a few things I remember and treasure about my Dad seeing as how it's his birthday and all.
*My Dad was truly one of the most supportive people I've ever known. Whether it was a voice recital, a church performance, or a 2-hour dance recital, he was always there (along with my mom of course). When I first took dance, he was always up for the adventure of carting me and my friends to rehearsals. He even worked out a carpooling schedule with some of the other moms (and didn't seem to mind at all). He always encouraged me in every hobby I did, and always told me I did amazing (he was probably prejudiced, but oh well. ;) ).
*My Dad was one heck of an amazing driving coach. Not only was he a fantastic driver himself, he also knew just how to whip me into shape and scare me out of making a really dumb driving error and killing myself. He always said that if I was ever in a wreck and it was my fault, my license would suddenly vanish. Same thing if I was ever caught talking on the phone or texting while driving. Given the fact that he was giving me one of those stare downs while he was telling me this, I went right along with him. (Just so you know, Dad, I never ever use the phone while I'm driving, and I haven't had a wreck yet ;) ). He also worked effortlessly to help me with my dreaded Achille's Heel of driving: parking. To put it bluntly, I stunk. He tried everything. We went over to the church parking lot, he got out of the car and stood at the edge of a parking space, and then attempted to direct me into it. He sure had a lot of patience with a nut like me. Even though he was pretty tough, I would give anything to be sitting in the car getting yelled at by my Dad right now about a pretty dumb mistake I made (even if it was as simple as not stopping at just the correct time when coming to a stop sign).
*My Dad was funny, and had a knack for cheering me up. I'd come in the house, ranting and raving about something, and swearing the whole world was out to get me and that my life sucked. After five minutes with my Dad, I'd feel pretty much just fine. Even if he couldn't solve my problems for me, he sure did make them seem pretty and unimportant. He also could make everybody laugh really really hard. Some of the stories he regaled us with from his earlier years just about killed us (and they never got old now matter how many times he told them). He also was pretty spontaneous. One summer he announced that we were going on vacation, and he wasn't telling us kid where we were going. When we showed up at Biltmore House, I was about the happiest person alive. I'd always wanted to go there, and was pretty dang happy to say the least.....
*My Dad was strict when he needed to be, encouraging, kind, understanding, and just about one of the greatest guys I know (not to mention my ever faithful blog reader. If I stopped blogging for any period of time, he'd let me know and tell me that I needed to start up again). There are sooo many other things I could say about him, and so many things I just can't begin to put into words. He was great, and if you had the opportunity to get to know him then you know what I'm talking about.
I miss you, Dad.
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Today I was talking to my son-in-law who is in grad school when I mentioned your dad. The problem with being a pastor is that everything a pastor does is under the microscope of the congregation, leaving little opportunity to really be himself in front of many of his flock. Your dad was one of the absolutely best teaching pastors I ever had he pleasure of listening to. Along with that, he had a wonderful dry sense of human and a slight touch of crazy that I really appreciated. I miss your dad too.
Thanks, Mr. Tom. That means a lot to me. I know my dad really really thought a lot of you too.
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