Happy Birthday to my HERO!

I love this picture.  It is the most favorite picture of my dad and I together.  One because I'm at my thinnest weight I'd been in years, and two because we look so happy - and you can really see how proud he is of me, and how much I love him.

Today is his birthday.  I actually started writing a post about the snow I woke up to this morning, but then it dawned on me... why on earth am I not writing about my dad?

I could have sworn that last year I wrote birthday posts for both my mom and my dad... but a quick search through made me realize that the only time I've ever written a post about my dad was on Father's day, 2011 - and he shared a post with Hubby.

Not cool.  Not cool, at all.

I love Hubby, but there's not a single man on this earth that could even hold a torch to how much I love my dad.

I'm actually a little ashamed and feel horrible that in the three years I've been faithfully writing this blog, my dad has gotten not even half a blog post of me explaining how much he means to me.  For shame!

My dad truly is my hero.  A man I've looked up to for as long as I can remember.  A man of few words, yet really doesn't have to say much to get his point across.  His personal ringtone on my phone is Hero by Chad Kroeger (lead singer of Nickelback).  Not because the song has any significance other than I like the tune, and it has the PERFECT title.

I can say all the cliche things about my dad:  He's hard working, he supports his family, he is a great dad, a great grandfather, etc., etc, but none of that barely scrapes the surface at the man I'm so proud to call my father.

The truth of the matter is, there aren't words that can explain how special he is to me.  Our special bond comes from the link of our eyes when we're both thinking the same thing, the way I say things and hear "you sound just like your dad", the way I turn to him for help with anything wrong with my car or house - completely dismissing anything Hubby says until it is confirmed by my dad.

At the end of the day, my mother is my best friend, but my father is the person I aspire to be like.

Not that there's anything wrong with my mom, she's an amazing mother.  But, my mom has a tendency to worry a little too much.  My dad is the kind of guy that lives in the moment, doesn't like to sweat the small stuff, does his day at work and likes to come home and relax.  He likes to enjoy the fruits of his labor, and doesn't really like to hear the words "we can't afford it".  Me in a nutshell.

In fact, the only flaw that I can think of off the top of my head is that he's too good of a grandparent.  Yep.  That's my dad's flaw.  He's too nice.  When I look to him for guidance with Butter - and like to have a firm upper hand that Butter will actually respond to and respect... my dad tends to go easy on him, because he just can't bare to be the "bad guy".

Bad flaw, huh?

But that really is my dad.  He worked so hard instilling good values in to me, that he just wants to be the grandfather he is - loving, kind, and the reason my kids just adore everything about him.  And how on earth can I argue with that?  My kids do adore him.  In fact, as horrible as it is to admit, you could ask Butter right now if he'd rather go and live with my parents - and he'd be out the door leaving fire streaks in his path.  Not because Butter doesn't love me - but because my dad is everything in Butter's eye.  In a list of people Butter loves the most, I'm pretty sure I rank #3...right after my dad as #1 and my mom as #2.  I could actually be at #4, because he thinks my youngest brother is pretty darned awesome, too.

My five siblings and I didn't make my dad's life the easiest it could be.  Each of us have brought our own share of hurt down on my dad.  My mother too, but sorry Mom - this is Dad's turn.  Each of us have done horrible things to him that we're not proud of.

While I can never take back the things I've done to my dad in the past, I learned from them - and it actually ended up bringing us closer together.

And when his job was just about done with being a father to children?  He and my mom decided that they weren't ready to give it up - and became foster parents.

Not to put any of my other siblings down, but my dad and I probably have the closest relationship of my other grown siblings.  Two of my siblings still live at home, well - that was until my brother moved back home with his girlfriend and two kids.  But that's another story altogether - won't go there.

My dad knows I have the up most respect for him.  There's not anything I wouldn't do for him - and he the same for me.  I can sit here and go on and on and on, but I still won't be able to truly express how much he means to me.  Because, again, there just aren't words that can express it.

At the end of the day, all you guys need to know is that I have one heck of a dad.  I have been truly blessed by having this man raise me.  I have him to thank for instilling the values that made me the person I am today.  I know that I have made him proud, and that he loves me with all of his heart.

I love you, Dad, more than I can ever express in words.  Have an amazing birthday!  See you tonight!