Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Happy 71st Birthday, Dad!


Happy 71st Birthday Dad! I know we've had our ups and downs through the years, but I'm very thankful for our relationship. I appreciate your quiet, soft-spoken ways, your constant care-giving, your generosity, your attention to detail, your love of nature, your dry humor, your honesty, your patience, and your fierce loyalty. I even appreciate the way you save *everything* and underline people you know in the phone book, your love of maps, and your temper (which I'm pretty sure I inherited). I love the way you treasure handmade gifts from the boys and the way you hold and talk to them when they are infants. I love how you read books to us as children and read to my kids today...reading everything down to the copyright and at the same time you may add comments into the story.

I know we parent very differently, but I always feel like you respect those differences and that means a lot to me. As often is the case, as I became an adult I understood how wise you are and also how fragile...two things which are hard to see as a teenager. I love your "strengths" and "weaknesses" equally, no matter how frustrating they both may be at times. I didn't realize how much I learned from you until I became a parent myself. It was not always easy being your daughter, but I know it was not easy being my parent.

You are one of the most human people I know...always real, always who you are...you get what you see. I am lucky to know you and I love you very much.

Lastly, I love that your insecurity about getting around on the internet may mean that you never read this post.

Happy Birthday

4 comments:

Todd McHenry said...

This one gets my vote for best post.

Jenny said...

Beautiful!

Unknown said...

This is so sweet.

Susan said...

How beautiful and touching! Thanks for sharing, Linda. While reading I had tears well up in my eyes thinking of my own father (who is one of my best friends) and realizing that I don't tell or show him enough how much I appreciate and love him for all that he is (my mother too, for that matter). Time is limited, and we shouldn't take it for granted. Thank you, again. I hope your dad *does* read it, or at least feels it.