Keeping Up With the Joneses: My Dad! (For Flashback Friday)

Friday, April 19, 2013

My Dad! (For Flashback Friday)

It's my daddy's birthday. His present is still coming in the mail, so today I will blog about him instead. Besides, I haven't done a Flashback Friday in a couple of weeks. Sorry. I've been sick and I forgot.
This is my dad:

Robin Eggs make the best lipstick. (Easter 2009)

He was born in Colorado in 1951. He grew up there and he loved it. When he was six years old, some missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints knocked on his parents' door. They invited them in and listened to what they had to say. They liked what the missionaries told them, I guess because they whole family (except my dad) was baptized. When he turned eight, two years later, he was baptized. He grew up and went to college. He went on a mission to Texas. He says Texas is a great place, but I wouldn't know. I've never been there, and I think people who go on missions tend to look at the place they went through rose colored glasses a little bit.
After he got back, he went back to college at BYU. While he was there, he saw this really pretty lady. Her name was Mom (no, not really, but she's my mom). He thought she was cute and that she had nice legs. He called her up and asked her out. She didn't know who he was and looked him up in the college dorm directory (it was complete with pictures). I guess she thought he looked nice enough, so she went out with him. She even married him.
I'm kind of glad she did because I like my dad. He's really nice. When I was a teenager, my youth leaders asked me if he ever yelled at me. I looked at them like they were nuts and said, "Not very often, but yes. When I am in trouble." "He's just so quiet. I can't imagine that." I got asked this more than once. They were weirdos. ;)
But my dad took good care of us. He turned in homework pages with crayon drawings on them (luckily, the professors understood his first born daughter was an aspiring artist even at one - no, not me. I'm not the oldest). He became a Mechanical Engineer and helped build the space program in the 80s. He never told me I couldn't do something just because I am a girl. Except play football and fast pitch baseball. He didn't want me to get hurt. I didn't really want to play that badly either. He taught me how to use a hammer and a drill. He and I made stuff together. We watched Star Trek together. We played softball and kickball in the backyard as a family. We went hiking and camping. He came to my plays when I was in high school and he taught me to drive.
I'm so grateful for the time he spent with me. He is patient and kind. He loves the Lord and he loves his family. I might just have the best dad ever. I feel blessed that I was lucky enough to grow up with him in my life.