Saturday, August 25, 2007

August 25

Today is one of those days for my family that often gets a little ignored. You see, August 25 is often move-in day at either MTSU or BSC or is a big football game, etc., etc. So, August 25 often passes by without much fanfare.

And yet, August 25 is a very important day in our family--Daddy's birthday! So here are just a few words to celebrate my dad.

I often tease my dad for many reasons (all of them justified, of course): wearing tube socks, preferring Indiana Jones-style hats, reading Adler while listening to Brahms while watching a football game. The list could go on, but I'll stop it there. But the one thing I don't say often enough is how much I respect my dad. He has more integrity than most any person I know. He is often faced with difficult decisions at work and seems to always make the right choice which will bring the most dignity to the situation. He has an incredible way of being both respectful and stern in order to ensure that the matter is dealt with in the most appropriate way.

I have learned a lot from my dad. He coached my softball teams and sat in every choir performance and bad high school theater production (though he did create an alliance with his friend Tom and make fun of people in the audience to get through it, but I digress). He always tried to be there for me, which was no small feat while running a small city at the university.

He has endeavored to teach us to respect each other. I often tease about the psychological warfare that goes on in our house--I would much rather be spanked (which I never was) than reprimanded for being disrespectful (which I often was). But I was always treated like an adult.

I will always treasure Saturday mornings with doughnut runs, cutting down real Christmas trees, and going to student affairs parties with college students who treated me like their little sister and my dad like their dad.

All this to say, Happy Birthday, Daddy! I hope it's a good one, even if you are moving boxes at BSC all day!

Love you! (Though not too much to put up this picture...I think it reinforces the thing I said earlier about integrity.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! I recognize that photo! Thanks for an inspiring note about your dad. I admire him, too, and also appreciate his integrity--a wonderful quality that makes a man truly good. (It's the quality I admired the most in my own dad!). Your dad also has a very dry, quick wit, and the ability to remember doggie ointment stories for way too long...

Anonymous said...

I love the picture! Is he supposed to be the Easter Bunny or did he just have a tooth pulled? We love your dad too! Happy Birthday, Old Man!!!
Andrea and Larry

LG said...

This was for a friend's wedding shower. We couldn't make it, so we made a book for her as if we had had a shower in TN for her. Daddy was the bride and got all of the bows! It was a hoot.