Daddy's Girl

Today is 11/11/11.  This in theory should be a lucky day.  Even more so, today at 11:11 am and pm should be super lucky.  However, there is one thing for sure...I do not need today at those specific times to be lucky.  My luck began on April 7, 1983 when I was born to my daddy.  Having him as a father makes me one lucky girl!  I cannot even begin to express my love for this man.  In so many ways I adore him, look up to him, respect him and love him.  He not a flashy kind of guy.  He's humble and proud of what he has done and what he has become.  He raised my brother and I with so much love and care that you cannot possibly put that kind of parenting into a few adjectives! I will admit, he can be a hard ass and to know him is to love him (I did get my bluntness from him) and there are days when he really does not care what you think (same here) and sometimes he will listen, but most of the time he is so far past the thinking stage that you are currently in that if you had any comments about the current situation you should have gave them to him, well, yesterday!

I have so many memories of my daddy from growing up that I will cherish forever.  The one that sticks out the most was when we still had our farm in Alabama and I went with him up there, I think I was in high school, and we ended up having to stay the night and my grandfather was up there too.  For those two days, I had my two favorite men all to myself!  Usually, I had to share them with my brother, which is fine, but since he was the only boy he seemed to always be with them and I wanted my time with them! I am very quick to tell you that I had/have them both wrapped around my finger!

Good men are very hard to find these days.  I am constantly comparing men to my dad, grandfather and brother.  If they can measure up to them, then they stand a pretty fair chance of being worthy of my time!  However, if there is one characteristic that I truly want to find the most is the way my dad treats my mother.  He is completely different around her than he is with anyone else.  It's almost like the rough and gruff farmer is left at the back door when he comes home.  As soon as he walks through that back door, he is no longer a farmer, he is my mother's best friend.  Thank you for being that man and showing me what love is.

To the man who ran over my bike because it wasn't where it was suppose to be,
To the man who never bought me a horse...ducks...chickens...goats...rabbits...
To the man who did buy me a steer that I never wanted to show

To the man who loves me unconditionally
To the man who helps me out
To the man who lends a helping hand

To the man who tells me to live my life, make a career, take pride in my work
To the man who says "but don't move too far" or "when are you moving back"
To the man who taught me everything

To this man, I say, Happy Birthday Daddy!  I love you and everyday that I grow older and wiser, I understand each of these reasons more and more.