my daddy and me

just some fun  in the leaves with my favorite guy.

 i'm getting choked up and i haven't even started. 

 my dad is the greatest man i have ever known. 

my handsome daddy, benji and me

my dad travelled a lot for business when i was growing up.  so, he did extra things to let us know how much he cared.  i can't count the number of times i woke up to find a note from my dad hanging on my mirror in the bathroom letting me know that he loved me. 

  when we were little, my dad took each of us kids on a "club" every month.  we always looked forward to clubs.  it was a one-on-one chance for fun with dad.  lunch, bowling, movies, swimming and laser-tagging always turned into talks about life with my dad: what made me happy, what made me sad, which friends i loved to play with, my favorite parts of being a british school girl- he cared about all of it.  

and i'll never forget the valentine's days in high school when my sister and i found love notes from our dad written in red dry-erase marker on the mirror with roses left on the counter from our favorite valentine.

i owe so much of who i am and my good habits to my dad...

when i was about 7 years old, it was my turn to sweep the kitchen one night. i remember vividly, my dad coming into the kitchen and showing me how to methodically sweep the kitchen- section by section. 7 years old. my dad is the most methodical man i know!  which is one of the reasons he leads such a successful life.  but my favorite thing about my dad is that despite his methodical, genius mind for business and despite his successes in that realm, my dad understands that life is about people and relationships. 

i loved wearing around my daddy's shoes. 

i want to be like him in so many ways...

  he's the most driven man i know.  (i guess that's where we get it from)

he's always been the first to admit when he's wrong and ask for forgiveness (i think this is one of the greatest gifts he's given to me as a father)

he's always changing, always growing into a better man (throughout my life i've seen him change before my eyes.  he's taught me that it's never too late to change and his example has given me permission to become more than i now am)

he's great with people.  (because he genuinely cares about them)

his love and passion for life are contagious

his family is his life

he's a hard worker

he has a reverence for things that are sacred

he dreams big! (that's definitely where i get it from)

dad, look at where you were 40 years ago and look at how far you've come.  look at the life you've built for yourself.  and look at all the people who love you most...

i love you, dad.  thank you for being one of my best friends, my biggest supporter and my greatest confidant.   

xoxo,

b