Happy Birthday, Dad (AKA Borrowed Dad)

What do you get when you mix one part Primitive Baptist with two parts Southern Gentleman, a handful of laughs and a heartful of love? You get the most wonderful dad in the world who has so much love to share that he adopts each and everyone he meets as one of his own... whether it be a borrowed daughter, a borrowed grandchild or sons-in-laws that are just as much his sons as his own best bud (Kyle).

It is common for a person to be "memorialized" after they have passed, and it has occurred to me on numerous occaisions that we should share with our loved ones the memories that mean so much to us while we still have the chance, so I would like to share a few memories of my dad on this day, His Birthday!

First of all, my dad and I seem to have the same "cheesy" sense of humor- you know the kind that only he and I will laugh at some jokes and everyone else in the room rolls there eyes... well I am proud to share that sense of humor with him! Dad, remember the bus driver jokes??? Boy were those cheesy! And boy did we ever laugh! :) Hey dad, What's this?.... The other half of this! HA HA HA HA HA --- oh, good times. And lets not forget our fondness of a good blonde joke! Right dad?

Before Kyle was born, daddy wanted a boy so bad that for Christmas one year he and mom bought me and my sisters the Hot Wheels USA city... this is a pic I found online, but doesn't even do justice to the awesomeness of this toy! We had so much fun with this, but I think daddy had as much if not more fun with us playing with this city!
Dad was one of the few fathers that was actively involved in the girl scout troops that we were a part of. I always remember him being there when we went on camping trips! He was always organizing putting up the tents, and he is THE MASTER PACKER- if you need to figure out how to fit everything in vehicle, plus the whole family... just ask my dad! I also remember him helping my sister's troop build a bridge so that they could bridge from girl scouts to cadettes in a special ceremony. And lets not forget all the Father/Daughter dances!

I can also remember countless nights of sitting on the bed with dad as he tried to practice playing the guitar and me and the girls singing with him... he even let me play the spoons everyonce in a while as an accompanyment. And speaking of music, we used to frequent the North Georgia mountains where I learned about the Dulcimer and one year for the music fair at school, my dad and I built a dulcimer together! How cool is that? (and if I remember correctly we one a blue ribbon)

One thing is for sure! My dad's favorite thing, even more than Gator Games, is being surrounded by his family. It all started when he fell in love with my mom, and that love continued to grow from Kimberly, to Kerry, to myself, and then to Kyle and now has passed down to Abbey and Brooke and Brady and Lindsey and soon Joshua will learn just how much love his Poppa has to give!

Please join me in wishing my dad, your borrowed dad, your child's (or future child's) borrowed poppa a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE YOU DADDY!

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.