Memories to Last a Lifetime...: Thankful...

As Father's Day is approaching this Sunday, my thoughts about the day have been everywhere. It's been really difficult hearing things about Father's Day on every radio station I listen to, but just a few minutes ago while listening to a young girl talk about her dad on the radio, something really clicked with me. My dad does not have to be here physically in order for me to celebrate him; I can be thankful for the 17 years that I did have with him!

He was such an amazing father and role model in my life, especially now as I'm growing spiritually. My dad was such a strong Christian and he loved to worship God with songs of praise by playing his guitar and singing. I definitely took those things for granted when he was around, but I'm so thankful to have had him in my life, along with my mom, raising me in a loving family. So I guess for the rest of the blog, I will be listing why I am so thankful for my dad and also memories for this upcoming Father's Day =)

He could always make me smile/laugh
His gift of singing and playing guitar was always heard around the house
He was very supportive of me in everything I did
I loved how he took an hour to help me with one math problem, even though it annoyed me at the time ;)
He let me hang around with him and do "manly" things around the house even though I'm a girl lol
He had a huge heart for people
He told the best stories
His family was extremely important to him
I'm thankful for his quirkiness....his straw hat, awesome mustache, wearing black pants with a brown shirt
Giving me a hard time about boys...saying that if I burped at the table, I would never have a prom date. Sorry Dad, you were wrong ;) Also, when he met my first boyfriend, he talked to him in a Donald Duck voice: very embarrassing at the time! Lol!
He passed on the genes of storm-loving =) He would stand outside when the sky was green and there was a tornado warning
He rode rollercoasters with me, when the Jenny and Mom wouldn't...and laughed the whole time beside me
He chased one of our cats around the yard in his robe with a huge stick...he also called them "flea-bitten varmints"
He loved to take random gravel roads and get lost on purpose
He would have anything on his peanut butter sandwiches...spaghetti was a popular one
He bounced his leg up and down...all the time, which now has been passed onto me since I can never sit still
He was always there

I don't know if anyone will read this, but mostly it's just for me =) I love memories like these and there are many more. I could probably write a book over them! I guess moral of the blog: be thankful for what God has blessed you with. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family right now. I love them so much. It's always hard for me not to take people for granted, but it happens to all of us. Also, for those of you who have lost a father (which I know many of you have) or any loved one for that matter...think of why you are thankful that God placed them in your life. It helps and will bring a smile to your face when you think of all the funny and amazing memories you had with them. God didn't place those people in your life to just take them away from you and give you heartache...He placed those people in your life because you learned from each other, helped one another grow, and you now have more love in your heart because of them.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!! Thank you for being the best father anyone could ever ask for...looking forward to seeing you once again, someday ;)

Also just for fun, here are some hilarious old pictures of my dad that I found on my computer...he was such a hippie ;)