Dad wasn’t always the best disciplinarian; the major discipline usually came from our mom. But the times he did attempt discipline are some of the most memorable, like the time he was taking us out for donuts on a Saturday morning and threw us all out of the car for acting like hooligans in the back of the van.
Dad was always the dad to show up for our sporting events, he even coached us for years. In fact, looking back I think he probably enjoyed coaching more then we enjoyed playing sports. He was the one that drove to the out of town tournaments, the one shouting expletives at the referees, the one to console us after a disappointing loss.
Dad always helped with our school work, and ultimately ended up doing most of our major projects and reports for us.
Dad always sings along to songs in the car and ends up making up his own bizarre words to the music.
Dad always yells at us in “Italian”, which is closer to gibberish then actual Italian.
Dad once asked for a Harmonica for Christmas, even though he doesn’t know how to play it. When we come home for family dinners we’ll hear him down in the basement making noise on his harmonica claiming he’s playing for his dogs.
Dad was always the one we’d ask for money, and he almost never said no!
Dad gets more excited about Christmas presents then the rest of us. One year my mom got him golf clubs with a special bag he could wear as a backpack. When we all came downstairs dad was walking around the living room with the golf bag on his back and a giant smile on his face. He used to bribe our older sister to tell him what mom got him for Christmas every year.
Dad knows every song from the musical 1776.
Dad is one of the most generous men we’ve ever known. What he has he will give you if you need it. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll buy it for you.
Dad gave up his dream of attending law school when we were kids so he wouldn’t miss a minute of our childhood.
Dad would play hide and seek with us on the weekends. We’d turn off all the lights in the house and he’d help us find the best hiding places.
Dad always fixed the bumps in Stumpy’s socks.
Dad learned to braid so he could do our hair when mom couldn’t.
Dad made the weirdest dinners, including Shit on a Shingle and American Chop Suey.
Dad is our greatest advocate. Always proud of our accomplishments and whenever something went wrong, he was the first to fight back for us.
Dad is a dreamer, always thinking big, expecting the best.
Dad is a fighter. He never gives up. We had the privilege to be around when he finished college. To see him graduate had a profound effect on all of us; he showed us that you’re never too old to go after what you want.
Dad is clever and witty.
Dad would randomly show up as we were walking home from elementary school to pick us up. Walking home from school sucked, so when he showed up it was always a great moment.
Dad is a terrible driver and in fact, he tends to fall asleep at the wheel. As children we went on many road trips and when he’d begin to drift off the car would slowly swerve towards the other lane or side of the road. We’d all begin screaming for him to wake up and his response would be something completely ridiculous like “I wasn’t sleeping, it was the wind”, and when we’d respond with the obvious “dad, if it is windy, why aren’t the trees moving”, his response would be something like “the wind is blowing evenly in both directions so the trees are standing still”. Ya, we know, it still doesn’t make sense…
Dad is stubborn as a mule, but whenever we fight with him, he is almost always the first to apologize.
Dad used to go to Starbucks before work every morning and buy an apple fritter for breakfast, and then he’d eat the lunch my mom made him for second breakfast, and then go to CVS and buy corn nuts and potato chips for lunch. Now he goes to the café in his building and buys sausage and pancakes instead of an apple fritter.
Dad makes the best damn meatballs in the world.
Dad loves the San Diego Chargers, no matter how shitty they play or how much they disappointment. He is a true fan.
Dad eats the weirdest shit, including anchovies and liverwurst.
Dad will share a Little Ceaser’s Hot and Ready pizza with his dogs at least once a week, just because they like pizza too.
Dad would live in flannel pajama pants if he didn’t ever have to leave the house.
Dad has a gift with animals. All animals love him more then they love any other human, including all our pets. He’s like a damn animal whisperer.
Dad is always playing Devil’s Advocate when we’re talking current events. Even though it annoys the shit out of us in the moment, he always raises good points.
Dad is disabled, but he’s never for a second let his handicap limit his opportunities and he’ll never miss a chance to take advantage of that handicap parking placard, it always worked out great on family trips to Disneyland.
Dad loves us, despite our quirks. We grew up knowing with absolute certainty that we had a father that loved us.
Today our dad has been awesome for 61 years. He will continue to be awesome and will go down in history as the most awesome dad for all eternity!
Dad, here is to 60 more years of awesomeness, happy birthday, we love you.
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