60 Things

Today is my dad's 60th birthday.  In honor of him, here are 60 things I love, am thankful for, or just plain old fun facts about my dad.

This picture is a few years old, but I still love it.

1. He is kind
2. Resourcefulness is one of the best things I've learned from him
3. He is gentile

4. He shaved his head for Esther...and then lost his own hair shortly after, during his own treatment for cancer
5. He is cancer free!
6. He is a hard worker








7. He loves my mom

8. He's a good cook who taught me to love all things spicy
9. He loves to fish
10. He's an excellent grandpa

Holding Zinnia and Esther

 

11. I love dirt track car races because he raced them or participated in a pit crew for most of my childhood and teen years
12.  I always thought he could secretly fly because he said he was like Peter Pan (and never wanted to grow up)
13. His tender heart is a gift (My grandma always like to tell the childhood story of how he came home from school and cried because baby Jesus didn't have a bed)
14. His favorite color is baby blue
15. He forgave me for the time several policemen showed up at our house over a not honestly acquired cement pig (it really wasn't mine...but I did participate in the acquisition)
16. He likes to create adventure and fun

Snowmobiling with my sister.

17.  Once we built a carburetor together
18. I loved waking up to KBCO and breakfast on the weekends
19. He was on track to become a police officer but due to a really crummy circumstance, ended up in the Navy instead
20. He is a hard worker
21. I remember planting green beans in our backyard in Commerce City and being in awe of a garden.  I can remember the sunset and the smell of well watered soil behind our house.
22. He made one particularly difficult decision to pull away from a lifelong friendship to make better choices for our family.  I don't think I've ever said thank you.
23. He has performed the Heimlich on both of siblings because of cheesy pizza
24.  He is generous
25.  He has a special heart to help those down and out
26.  Stripping "rabbit" (copper wire) is a fond memory
27.  I love rummaging through vintage and antique stores because he often took us to the flea market (once the ticket agent asked if I was his girlfriend...we were both horrified).
28. I used to hide on the floor of his '57 Chevelle
29. He made us learn to drive a standard transmission
30. He's an early riser
31. I always thought I would break him when he asked us to walk on his back
32. He's a very good teacher
33. He's a thoughtful leader

On vacation in Glenwood Springs

34. He values honesty and integrity
35. He was never much into sports but always supported any desire we had to pursue them
36. I can sing almost every Beatles song because we always listened to Beatles' tapes in the Chevelle.  The sound must've been good on the floor.
37. He's a thrill seeker
38. He wears skater shoes
39. He is incredibly loyal
40. He took us on bike rides and showed us how to make big splashes through the puddles
41. He is smart and can figure out a solution to most any broken thing
42. He played a 12 string guitar

43. He always encouraged us that we could be anything we wanted to be.  Because of his and my mom's belief in us, I never doubted.

44. He is humble and considers others
45. He loves garden gnomes and pink flamingos
46. He proudly wears a t-shirt of a gnome, bull riding a pink flamingo.  And it is awesome.
47. I only remember him being angry because we did something really wrong
48. Even in times when our family didn't have much, he and mom always figured out a way have some fun
49. We went on a camping trip and the water leaked out of the camper, so he boiled our hot dogs in beer.  That was one of my favorite camping trips.
50. He took me on a date to Blackhawk a few days before I got married.  One of my all time favorite dates.
51. I always knew he would be home after work

52. He would do pretty much anything for any of his kids
53. He likes to look at the night sky
54. His favorite number is 29
55. He's taught three of our kids how to fish.
56. Getting up early in the dead of winter to ice fish is one of my favorite memories.  Maybe it was because we got to eat those little chocolate frosted donuts and grape Big League Chew for breakfast (and lunch), or maybe it was because it was fun.  Either way, I loved it.  
57. He's bravely worked to learn to live short several sound tones because of the same chemo that took some Esther's hearing.  That's scary as a grown up and I'm proud of you for sticking it out.
58. He is faithful
59. He's the only driver I feel truly comfortable with in a snow storm
60. He's a good dad, and I'm thankful for every day I've had the gift of being his daughter.

Happy Birthday, Dad!