A note about my dad...

It is my dad's birthday this weekend.
I think he'd rather not be reminded, but it does give me a moment of pause.

It has been such a gift to be blessed with 2 amazing parents that have been healthy & alive for my lifetime. I feel very lucky to have them.

My dad is truly one of the best people I have ever met. I think sometimes people don't realize how smart he is b/c he is humble, or how funny he is, b/c he lets other people have the spotlight.

He is so unselfish and giving. He is the kind of person you can never buy anything for b/c he will never complain that he needs something. He would rather you kept your money than spend it on him.

The best birthday pressent you can give him is to make him a card, write him a note, and/or spend the day playing games & being a family.

My dad never wastes food! Ha! We lovingly have referred to him as "The Goat" b/c he'll eat anything (except liver!) and will not allow food to be wasted.

My dad is also often called "Rand" b/c he is a living map! I have called my dad in the middle of the night lost in some part of NJ & he is always like, "okay, so go to the next light and make a right, you'll see a 7-11 on your left..." He is the kind of person who just understands the way roads work. He can have driven down a road 15 years ago & remember it still. There are many amazing stories that we all have about his mapping abilities.

My dad's artist abilities are in map-drawing. He can draw you the best map ever!

My parents have told folks they received a "scholarship" when they felt it was important for students to attend something they could not afford. The "scholarship" was my parents. They don't have a ton of money, and they have a TON of projects that need to get done, but some things are more important to them.

My dad has coached so many of our teams! He is such a FAIR coach. Starting line-ups would often be determined by who had not missed practices, and he would try to play everyone in every game. He would spend lots of time learning how to be a good coach from other coaches.

My dad is VERY non-materialistic. This is really annoying as a pre-teen or teen. But, it has been an excellent lesson, and there are more important things in life than a new pair of shoes (this coming from a Fashion Major!). I am thankful for this philosophy.

My parents always encouraged us to join!, play outside!, have friends over! My childhood weekend dinners (or all of the summers) would see at least one other kid at our table who was staying over or playing for the day. Our home may not have been spotless, but it was filled with fun and laughter.

I used to hate that my parents were always right. They were, really. Now, I love that I can look to them for advice, and trust them with anything.

My parents are an excellent pairing. Dad could tutor math & science, mom is a fantastic writer. Mom will help with art projects, dad would coach our teams and work on our batting stance.

Most of all, my parents always respected our opinion. Even as a small kid, we were allowed to dress ourselves, voice our opinion, and enter into the conversation.

I could go on, but you get the idea...my parents are the kind of people that restore hope in humanity & make the world a better place...

Happy Birthday to my dad.