Father's Day

Since I did a post for Mother's Day, it is only right that I do one for Father's Day for both of my dads.

It's kind of hard to know where to start with my dad. I guess my first thought for him is THANKS! He and my mom married when I was not quite two, and then he adopted me. While he isn't my biological father, he is my daddy. I'm sure it was interesting to suddenly have a two year old running around. :) My dad has never been the "mushy" type. I can probably count on one hand the number of times he has actually said "I love you" to me. Some of you reading this may not understand that, but it all goes back to how he was raised. He wasn't raised in a family that did those kinds of things, so that's just how he is. There is and never has been any doubt in my mind that he did love me though. He just showed it instead of saying it, and as the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." You know, people say that girls always marry someone like their dad. For years I've said that John and my dad are nothing alike, but while I was painting, I did a lot of thinking about these two important men in my life. True, personality wise they are nothing alike, but when I think about the kind of men they are, I see so many similarities. My dad believes in hard work, he knows the value of a dollar, he is true and honest, and when he says something, you better listen! John is the same way. With Dad, we didn't get things just because we wanted it. We got what we needed, but if it we wanted something just because everyone else had it, we had to work for it and save our money. Dad is a pretty quiet man, so when he speaks, what he has to say has been thought out very carefully. My dad is also an extremely good judge of character, so you aren't going to pull the wool over his eyes by pretending to be what you aren't!! Thanks, Dad, for everything. I love you!!

Next, I have to give honor to Carl, my late father-in-law. Carl was the first of John's family that I met. I was at John's house in Jasper one day, and Carl came by to visit. They were going to dinner, and Carl was insistent that I go with them. We went to Uncle Mort's, and we all got the ham steak and baked potato. Carl talked about that ham steak until the day he died. lol I learned that day that he and I liked our baked potatoes the same way--lots of butter and sour cream. Everybody talks about what a "booger" he was, and Connie and I have talked many times about how our dads mellowed as they aged, but I can honestly say I never say the "booger" everyone talks about. (I guess I was his favorite since I always got the "good" side. Just kidding Linda and Tisha. hahaha) I will never forget one of the times we went to Hartselle when we had Katy and Jessi with us. They wanted to get something to eat. I think we were just going to go to Dari Delite, but Carl insisted that we go to Teresa's, a restaurant in town, so we did. The waitress came over and got our drink orders and then came back to get the food orders. We all went around and placed our order. When she got to Carl, she asked "Mr. Carl" what he was having. His reply? "I've already eaten." He didn't want to go there to eat--he just hadn't been by that day! He had his circuit that he'd make every day--Dot's (now Mr. Henry's), Hardee's, Teresa's...Carl was such a funny man, and I see him in John every day. I was so blessed to have him as a part of my life. He welcomed me into the family, and he treated me just like he treated his children. I loved him as much as I do my own dad. I love you and miss you, Carl, but you live on in your son!

To all the other father's out there, I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day!!

(In case you're wondering...Since I'm at the lake, I took care of writing this post earlier. I love the scheduled posting option.)