dad.

today is my dad's birthday. i say is, although some would say "would have been".

dad was quirky. and cantankerous. and he had the biggest heart of anyone i have ever known... but he wouldn't really want anyone to know that.

he was a good guy. a truly good guy. he always did the right thing. always. and he expected those around him to, too. and, when they didn't, he would just shake his head.

he loved my grandma. a lot. true love is what they had. (i may have forgotten to mention that i called my grandfather, 'dad'. he is the only dad i have ever known, and i think that he was secretly tickled that i referred to him as dad- even though he would always bark, 'don't call me dad!' and then slyly smile).

dad bought me my first car. and my second. and my third. they were a bunch of jalopies, but they always got my friends and myself anywhere we ever wanted to go. he loved driving around the peninsula, and would want to stop for a 'cream cone.' i wish i could take a drive with him again.

you know how the father in 'my big fat greek wedding' believed that windex was the cure all for all that ails ya? well, my dad believed that anything wrong with any car could be fixed with a bottle of dry gas; "pour a bottle of dry gas in yer tank and take her up to the highway and open her up!" he also swore by wd40. "cheech? you got some wd40? that'll fix it!"

he called me cheech. he was the only one to call me that.

he was so proud of me when i graduated from college. i don't think that he was thrilled that i became a teacher, but maybe he was. he always told me that i was book smart, but that i had no common sense.

dad hated cheese. except on a grilled cheese sandwich. only on a grilled cheese sandwich. he wouldn't even eat cheese on pizza.

lately i have been thinking about my dad's homemade chicken pot pie. i always wondered why he called it pot pie- it was more like a stew with thick homemade noodles... and then, a few weeks ago, i was watching man vs. food. adam went to a place that served 'slippery pot pie.' it was my dad's pot pie! he was right. it took me 28 years (with 10 years experience) to know that.

i always put cheese on my pot pie. dad always shook his head at me.

it was my family's tradition to put the christmas tree up on dad's birthday. it about killed me because i wanted it up so much sooner. he would curse as he assembled the tree, but oh how he loved lounging on his birthday evening with the lights all aglow, basking in his birthday christmas tree... the tackiest tree ever... with a ton of icicles and tinsel. it was the most beautiful tacky tree i have ever laid eyes on.

i didn't keep dad's birthday tree tradition. maybe next year i'll have the kids decorate a mini tree on december 19th. dad would love that.

he loved kids. he called my nephew, christian, 'mikey.' gosh, he loved that kid. the sun rose and set on mikey. i wish that he would have met rhys, lync and quinn. i wish...

dad bought us our stainless stove as a housewarming gift on rose avenue. when we sold the house, the buyers wrote in that they wanted the appliances. my heart still winces that i don't have that stove.

dad loved to sing. this doesn't mean that he could sing, however ;-) he loved to push our buttons, and the worse the song was, the louder and longer he would sing. "hang down your head, tom dooley! hang down your head and cry..."

dad was proud. he would do without so that other could do with. if you needed something, he would find a way to get it for you. no questions asked.

happy birthday, dad.