Yesterday my darling Dad turned
82!!
He and Mom went down to Butte Montana to spend
the weekend with Mom's sister Karen
and her son Craig and his family.
Now, my dad is 82.
So how did he celebrate the big day?
He and Craig and the kids went to the gym.
And they worked out.
And then they got in the pool
and swam for 45 MORE minutes.
Cuz that sounds like a nice, relaxing way to spend the day,
right?
Then the whole gaggle went out to dinner.
To this nifty place in town that gives you your age
in % off your dinner.
So, Dad got 82% off his dinner.
He ordered a pound of crab legs.
LOL!
My Dad is no slouch.
He and the guys climbed Mt. Timpanogos 2 weeks ago.
Not ALL of it,
cuz they only had a couple of hours.
But still!
Dad and I have always had a shared love of horses.
One of my favorite memories of my Dad is one day
when he taught me the meaning of true patience.
We borrowed the Robertson's horses, Conker and Sassy.
Rode them, bareback, across Fish Creek and up
to a field in the middle of nowhere.
Then we got off and let them graze for a little
while we walked around and stretched our legs.
Eventually it was time to get back on.
Dad can swing up on a horse bareback like an Indian.
I, on the other hand, do a running jump thing
and then flap my legs and kick and flail
and eventually grunt and groan myself onto my horse.
Poor horse.
(which is why I almost NEVER ride bareback)
Dad decided to teach me to hop on the right way.
He showed me where to put my hands.
Where to put my feet.
How to move my weight.
How to step.
How to hop.
What he couldn't show me was how to get spring in my step.
You've heard the expression "white men can't jump"?
I don't know about that.
But I can tell you....
this girl can NOT jump.
He showed me.
I tried.
He tweaked.
I tried.
He showed me again.
I tried.
He coached.
I tried.
After what felt like 2000 tries,
he sighed and quietly gave me a leg up.
My Dad.
He's gentle.
He's kind.
He's patient.
He's loyal.
He works hard to stay healthy.
He makes a KILLER smoothie.
He loves his family.
And his family loves HIM!
Happy Birthday Dad!!!
1 comment:
awesome post Collette, as usual. for a dad whi worked hard at the office 5 days a week till he retired,came home every night to have dinner with his family and then usually off to the church to serve the Lord, i'm still amazed to hear the wonderful stories from my siblings about the quality time and relationship he had with each one of us.what an amazing man! i love him so! thanks for sharing Collette!
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