I'm Very Glad...

...That he's my dad. And I know he loves me too ;).

Happy Birthday to my DAD!!!!

Okay, so yeah he drives me absolutely bonkers sometimes... I seriously think he thinks up ways to rile me up on the phone so that I can have a "heated" argument with him and keep him on his toes. He knows I'm smart enough to give him a run for his money and make him wiggle out of his useless arguments ;). I guess he hasn't learned the cardinal rule: "Never go up against a [Nilla] when [winning an argument] is on the line! Hahahah... hahaha....hahah" (Okay and for those of you who totally didn't get that... That was a very doctored-up quote from The Princess Bride. Awesome movie, by the way.) Anyway... So, here's my dad, through the ages:I've told a lot of stories about my dad... I want to share a few more. To begin with... Did you know my dad is fluent in Spanish? Well, he is. And he's also a Mr. Fix-it. He knows a lot of stuff about lots of things. As I've mentioned in the past, he has fixed my car for me in various ways. He also knows how to re-wire a house. Those aren't his only two skills, of course. But they will suffice for now :).

One time, after I had been inducted into the National Honor Society, my dad and I were driving home. In Panama, they have street vendors who will actually approach your car and try to peddle their wares. (I had forgotten about them... I wonder if they will still be there?). Some of the vendors sold bags of limes (for a buck! and these were huge bags!), some sold puppies (I know, sad), and some sold roses. Anyway, on that day, my dad bought me a pink rose in celebration of my induction into NHS.
When I was growing up, it was hard to trick my dad. He was, after all, my dad. And it can be pretty hard to trick dads... Well, as I mentioned before, my dad is a Mr. Fix-it. One of his hobbies in Panama was fixing up old cars. He still likes to do that, but doesn't do it as much anymore... Anyway, so on Saturday, if he wasn't running errands with my mom, he would be out front under the carport, working on his cars. Well, one day, I saw Brad or Christina's fake coral snake laying around. So, I though, "Hmmm... I wonder what'll happen if...." So, I opened the front door while Dad was over in "his room" (part of the enclosed section of the carport where he had all his "junk"), and quickly dropped the plastic snake out there by the door. Also realize that my dad is quite aware of the poisonous snakes of Panama... and the Coral Snake is one of those. Anyway, so I hurry back inside and go peek out the window that looks out onto the carport to watch his reaction. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed... Dad was walking over, pretty much not focusing on what was in front of him. Obviously the color of the snake caught his eye, because he stopped. And when it registered, he jumped back. Then he inched up to it and saw that it wasn't moving... So he kicked at it. And when the snake didn't react, that's when he realized it was fake. So, he picked it up and put it inside. I'm not sure when I told him that I was the culprit... But I got a good chuckle. Also, please realize this snake was very real-looking.
My dad taught us to value life in all of its forms. He never killed anything for the sake of killing it. And there are very few things I can think of him ever killing. And even those he had to kill to keep us safe (like the nest of fer-de-lance snakes in the yard where we played), he felt incredibly guilty about. If possible, he would much prefer to catch the animal and release it than to harm it. He did that with a boa constrictor snake one time. He coaxed it into a huge jar and drove it up to the jungle and let it go. I've always appreciated that my dad taught us this, both in word and in deed.My dad often tells me that having your kids grow up doesn't make you stop worrying about them. And I know he means it. I know my dad smiles with me when I am happy. I know he cries with me, literally, when I hurt. I've seen him do it. I know he loves me. And I love him very much. And that is just one of the reasons why I know that I will cherish the trip we are taking to Panama. It will be a great father/daughter adventure. And though I'm sure he'll make me crazy at least some of the time (but fear not, I make him crazy too :)), I know that the memories we will create there together will be things I hold dear for the rest of eternity.

I love you Dad. Happy Birthday!

More to come about my weekend....