So, Father's Day is always a little bittersweet for me. Although my Dad is still very much alive and doing well, he's just doing so up in New Jersey, instead of Texas. It makes it hard for me when this holiday rolls around every year, because I would give anything to invite him over for dinner today and cook for him for the very first time in my own home. I imagine that in this scenario, I would make something very cheesy and extremely unhealthy, followed by ice cream, since he eats a gallon a night anyhow. Gross.
Before I start in on the pity party, I'm reminded of all those who have lost their Dads too soon and I remember to be grateful and to stop feeling sorry for myself.
It just started me thinking about the other "Dads" in my life and how thankful I am to have them near and dear to me. So in no particular order, here are the men who have influenced me and who have had an impact on my life in one way or another.
Paw Paw
My grandpa, Arthur Blake is the patriarch of the family. Everyone loves Paw Paw and he loves just about everyone, including waitresses and anyone who works out religiously and takes care of themselves. He makes a mean Tom Collins and he knows everything there is to know about vitamin supplements. He's just about the most interesting 92-year-old you'll ever come across and he has taught me so many important lessons about human nature. His interesting line of work in the Army and the wars that he served in will do that for a person. I had the fortune of living with he and Maw Maw for a brief time after graduating from college. During that time I was rejected by a boy and my grandpa looked me dead in the eye and said, "Kelley, any man who would reject you has to be gay in my book". HA. Well, although I don't agree with him, he sure knows how to make me feel better. I could fill up a book about this man and the interesting life he has led and the many lives he has affected. I hope I make him proud every single day and I hope he knows how much of my heart belongs to him.
Dad
He was a star athlete in high school, then again in college and has always (unintentionally) made all the girls swoon over him. I remember the waitresses at the restaurants where he worked when I was growing up would always flirt and hang around my Dad. Man that used to make me mad, but now I get it. He just has that spark that is a rarity. He is self-deprecating, funny, hard-headed, an even harder worker and he just doesn't know the lasting affect he has over people. Everyone loves Pete.
Everyone . . . especially me. Happy Father's Day, Dad.
Ron
He is the father to Kassi and Fonsie (aka: Ed) and I had the amazing privilege of growing up with The Smith Family. My parents have been best friends with Kim and Ron since before I was born, so this meant that I had the unique fortune of, in a way, growing up in their household. There were so many family vacations, so many amazing memories and so many times that I felt as though Ron was my second Dad. He always looked out for me and my sisters and he was always there. Solid, disciplined, laughing, paddling Fonsie with a belt, but most importantly, he was just there . . . loving us as his own. He'll never know how much I appreciate him or feel like, I too could be his daughter. Thank you Ron for loving me as one of your own, you'll never know how much it has always and will always mean to me.
The Smith Family
Mr. Lowry himself. No, not Wado, but Wado Potato's Dad. Bill is a man of very few words, he's more of a quiet observer, but once you get him going, you try to hang on to every word. Wade married my best friend,
Rae, so in a way I feel as though I am part of yet another amazing family. Bill is like a rock, he takes care of business and is there for every moment, big or small. Most importantly, he lets Juli be who she is and he taught Wade how to take care of his own wife and family. In my book, that can only be learned by example. Unfortunately, Bill and Juli lost their daughter and Wade's sister, Whitley a few years back and I know that a piece of them all died that day, but they're the type of family who pick themselves up by their bootstraps and forges on. In spite of this huge loss to their family, you can always count on having a great time with them. There's an endless supply of laughter, great memories and generosity flowing from the Lowry family and I am so very grateful to play some small part in it all.
Bill - congrats on being a grandpa yet again this week, Whitt and Dylan are so very lucky to have you!
Charlie
I owe my father-in-law a lot. I owe him, because he raised an amazing son, father and husband. Kris would not be the man he is today if it wasn't for Charlie showing him the way, in how you treat your wife, how you stand strong in your convictions and how you can be impossibly stubborn. Maybe I don't owe him for that last part. :) Charlie loves his wife and his family so much that he could really care less about anyone else in this world. That's just how he is and he'd tell you that himself. He doesn't want for much and you always are keenly aware of where his priorities lie. He's a stoic, teddy bear of a man and he's the core of the Denby's in my book. I love him for always being there for us and for treating me as his own. He'd rather laugh than get all sappy, so I'll leave it at this . . . I love you Charlie, thank you for raising such an amazing man. You did well. Really well.
Kris
Speaking of filling up a book on someone. I could write on and on about this man in my life. When we first met, he told me to be prepared because Ethan, who was eleven at the time, would always come first in his life. I told him then that I wouldn't have it any other way. He loves his son and is the type of Dad who is consistent, who is disciplined, who is wise and who has a lot of fun with his son. What you see is what you get with this one. It's not hard to tell how much Ethan looks up to and loves his Dad. They share an infinity for learning, Star Wars, culture, music, hiking, movies, Comic Cons, karate and of course kilts - but most importantly they just like being around one another. Ethan's at that age where most teenagers butt heads with their fathers, but it's just not happening with them; fortunately, it just keeps getting better and better. I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to see what a great Dad my husband is before we even have kids of our own. He makes me want to have 10 billion babies, so that he can help me raise them and they can turn out just as amazing as Ethan has. Okay, maybe more like one or two, not 10 billion. :) If you have laid witness to Kris and Ethan's relationship, then you already know how special it is. If you haven't, just look below and you can see for yourself.
One of the very first pictures I took of Ethan and Kris
So, Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. :)
xo,
Kelley
