Happy birthday Daddy!

Today would be my dad's 87th birthday (yes, you read that correctly). Even though he passed away in 1997, I still miss him and am so thankful to have had him as a father. He was a wonderfully kind person with so much life experience... I wish I could have asked him more questions about his time in the Navy during WWII, his experience in med school on the GI Bill, his life as an OBGYN in Columbia, SC. His childhood in the Low Country of SC (he was born in 1925! What a different world, right??), what his parents were like, etc.

Forgive the weird reflection-- but if you've ever wondered which parent I look like...

I don't regret any of the short time we had together though. I cherish all the time spent in his lap in that brown LazyBoy (which is now in my DC apt) watching the Discovery Channel. So thanks Dad, for watching the Little Mermaid every day for... a few years, for letting me do your hair and even answering the door with the clips still in, for always trying to answer my endless questions, and most of all, for never letting me doubt how much you loved me and my mother.  I was always a Daddy's girl.

He retired right after I was born

I even forgive you for that time you fell asleep waiting on me to get home from school and locked me out of the house for a few hours. When I was 7. :) hahaha And I still remember hearing your feet move down the hallway at 5:30am, shuffling towards your paper and the morning news. I remember how you always wore flannel shirts and how you developed a bit of a stomach that I thought of as a pillow. (Little kids are so sensitive, eh?)

Our smiles aren't awkward at all.

Most of all, I remember his calm manner and wonderful Southern accent (yes Mom, he had one too). He was a true gentleman, and I am proud to be his daughter.

Oh, and Mom... thanks for marrying him. :)

Wedding Day