Birthday Wishes

I am maddeningly inconsistent about wishing people happy birthday.  I actually have a terrible time remembering birthdays, much to my former co-workers dismay.  She thought just because I could remember the titles and authors of all the Caudill books for the past three years, I should be able to recognize someone's birthday, but that's not how my mind works.  And here is a perfect example of why.

Meet my dad, Keith.  He's the big 60 today!  Now in the pic below he's only like 33-34, and I'm the little cutie in the middle and Kim is the one cuddling the goat.  Notice how Kim is all about this little guy and I'm barely touching the goat.  Not much has changed there, Kim is still the farm girl and I'm just a poser.

Now, dad can tell you what corn sold for in 1992, but he might stumble on my birthday.  He is a fount of random information and that's just one of the funny things about him.  I had to finish a crossword puzzle for school once, way before the internet, and one of the clues was something about a French pirate and dad woke up in the middle of the night and shouted Jean Lafitte!  That's still a joke in our family, like when you have that eureka moment, it's really a Jean Lafitte moment.  

Another great thing about my dad is that he loves his girls like crazy.  I'd honestly never seen my dad cry until we watched Father of the Bride.  And that was years before he had to give us away.  And he's terrifying to boyfriends.  To get into our house, you have to walk right past dad's bow and arrow set mounted on the wall.  So several boyfriends had images in their heads of dad hunting them down in the woods.  Fear is an effective tool for handsy boyfriends.  

All this is to say, I'm a daddy's girl.  What dad says regarding cars, appliances, fixing stuff, and life in general is pretty much gospel in my book.  Doug has heard on numerous occasions while fixing something, do you want me to call my dad?  I'm starting to trust Doug's skills over my dad's opinions, but when he's not looking, I still call dad about the stove.  Shh, don't tell him I said that!

Happy birthday, dad!  I'll give you the day off.  If I get a flat tire today, or if my microwave explodes or some other similar emergency, I'll call someone else.  

PS.  Here's a more recent pic of my cutie parents at my wedding.  Doug was super impressed by dad because he was drinking straight gin on the rocks.  Just one glass though-wouldn't want him to be passed out on the dance floor.

PPS.  And a happy birthday to the little mister, Anthony, who turned the big 0-5 on Saturday.  Sorry I missed your birthday, but I still love you bunches!!

Happy Reading!