A Letter to Dad: Happy 60th Birthday (Belated)

Time got away from me last week, so this is way overdue!

Dad,

You are such a great man.  You have always been a hard-working, great provider for our family, a faithful and loving husband to mom, and a fun and loving father to Heather and I.  Although your childhood was filled with tragedy, no one would ever know it unless you told them.  You love to be around people-to hear their stories, to learn from them, and to make them laugh.  By watching you, I learned everything I needed to know about how to interact with people.

I cherish the special relationship we had when I was a kid.  You used to call me your "buddy," mainly because I was like the son you never had.  While Heather was learning how to curl her hair and put on makeup, I was playing sports and begging you to let me cut the grass.  We would run errands together and you would take me to McDonalds in Blue Ash where we would sit and watch the hillbillies changing their oil in the KMart parking lot.  We would laugh and laugh, then we would go home and hide the McDonalds evidence from Mom.

Despite the fact that you typically worked 6 days a week, you still found time for me.  You took us to church every Sunday, even though you only got one day to sleep in.  You helped coach my soccer team, even though you had never played soccer in your life, just to keep me from quitting the team.  You drove me down to UC so I could learn about veterinary medicine, even though you were probably exhausted from working in the factory all day long.  You found time to get to know my first date when he came to pick me up (little did you know I'd end up marrying the guy!), and you found time to write and record a song for me to play during my wedding.

Now that I'm older, you are still showing how much you care about me.  You babysit the kids whenever you can, meet us for dinner on a moment's notice, hang out with us on Sunday afternoon watching football, go to a Bible study with me, help us when anything needs to be done with our house-the list goes on and on.  You are such a great example of what God wants a father to be.

The older I get, the more I realize how lucky I am to have parents like you and Mom.  I will be eternally thankful for all that you have taught me about God, love, and life in general.  I hope you had a great birthday, here's to many more!

Love ya,
Kel