Happy Birthday, Dad!

The more I think about it, making much of a fuss over birthdays seems a little odd. I mean let’s face it, being born didn’t require a whole lot of work on your part, right? Nor did you do it by choice.

Serving your country with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, that required a lot of work, commitment, patriotism and was done by choice. But I don’t send you a card or gifts on Veteran’s Day.

And spending your entire career as a Special Agent with the F.B.I. required a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, love of country and was done by choice. But I don’t send you a card and gifts once every year for that.

Raising a family, providing for us, loving us, that took a lot of work but there’s Father’s Day for that. (Notice I didn’t say this was done by choice because I’m not sure if the starting-a-family decision was made by you or mom.)

Then again, when you have a dad as special as you, there aren’t enough ‘holidays’ in the year to fully express my love, admiration and gratitude. So we’ll proceed with a “Happy Birthday” wish, regardless of the logic behind it.

I’m grateful that I grew up with such an amazing role model – a man that continues to inspire me today. I’m glad you’re here (on this earth that is) because the world certainly is a better place with you in it. So maybe this provides the logic behind celebrating a birthday.

Soccer games, tennis matches and baseball games were always better with you on the sidelines. Graduating from high school and college seemed like a much bigger accomplishment with you in the audience.

Following you back and forth across the lawn with my toy lawn mower always made for a great Saturday. Rigging the kitchen faucet to spray you, the master of practical jokes, made for a good laugh. Watching you try to contain your laughter while listening to the fowl-mouthed drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket – I’ll always remember that. It’s those little, everyday things that have made for such lasting memories.

Come to think of it, there’s another big birthday near the end of this month that we make a really big fuss over, right?

So dad, on this day, I wish you a very Happy Birthday! I hope you’re day is full of fun and peace, as well as green lights, clear roadways, fresh brewed coffee, Panera cinnamon rolls right out of the oven, small gasoline engines that start on the first crank, computers that intuitively know what you’re trying to do, and a Bible that opens exactly to the page you need.

In other words, I hope you have a great day… a very special and happy birthday.

PS. Thank you for…

Teaching me how to relax