My dad is a funny man.
When I close my eyes and picture his face now,
it's composed,
thoughtful,
very serious,
or,
he's dozing!
Getting any type of alternate expression out of him
is nearly impossible,
and this was proven when on my families
last trip to Disneyland
he rode down Splash Mountain
like he was waiting in line at the DMV!
No scream-face,
no eye-brows raised,
just dead serious-
and my mom has the picture to prove it!
Which is what makes what happened,
all the more joyful!
...
In the midst of all the holiday preparations,
I realized something pretty incredible.
I don't recall ever
-and I mean never-ever-
singing "Happy Birthday" to my dad!
Granted,
his birthday falls on Christmas Eve
and is always overshadowed by Christmas festivities,
but still...
Never?!?
This couldn't be!
So after a family dinner,
with everyone still settled around the table,
Samuel dimmed the lights,
we brought out the cake,
and sang him his very own rousing
birthday song!
I'm telling you,
never have you seen a grown man
disintegrate before your very eyes,
only to be replaced by
a twinkly-eyed,
grinning-like-crazy
little boy!
It was a moment I'll never forget!
And I realized with perfect clarity how
grateful I am to be
this man's daughter.
He has always wanted so much for us,
always wanted to be more for us,
but in the end,
I know that he
always, always
loved us.
I love you too, Dad!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y !
When I close my eyes and picture his face now,
it's composed,
thoughtful,
very serious,
or,
he's dozing!
Getting any type of alternate expression out of him
is nearly impossible,
and this was proven when on my families
last trip to Disneyland
he rode down Splash Mountain
like he was waiting in line at the DMV!
No scream-face,
no eye-brows raised,
just dead serious-
and my mom has the picture to prove it!
Which is what makes what happened,
all the more joyful!
...
In the midst of all the holiday preparations,
I realized something pretty incredible.
I don't recall ever
-and I mean never-ever-
singing "Happy Birthday" to my dad!
Granted,
his birthday falls on Christmas Eve
and is always overshadowed by Christmas festivities,
but still...
Never?!?
This couldn't be!
So after a family dinner,
with everyone still settled around the table,
Samuel dimmed the lights,
we brought out the cake,
and sang him his very own rousing
birthday song!
I'm telling you,
never have you seen a grown man
disintegrate before your very eyes,
only to be replaced by
a twinkly-eyed,
grinning-like-crazy
little boy!
It was a moment I'll never forget!
And I realized with perfect clarity how
grateful I am to be
this man's daughter.
He has always wanted so much for us,
always wanted to be more for us,
but in the end,
I know that he
always, always
loved us.
I love you too, Dad!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y !
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