Happy Birthday Dad!

You, Dad, are a great father. You are so funny. Sometimes I think we are the only ones smart enough to get how funny you really are. Plus, you think I am funny, which works for me.

You make good choices. You have friends that go back 40+ years, which says a lot about the type of people you align yourself with and says a lot about the type of guy you are. You have really good friends. And, they are good to me.

You married Mom, good choice.

When I got to college, you encouraged me to study, to have fun, to make friends and to make good memories. You facilitated that by introducing me to nearly every alum on the Earth, telling me who they married, who their children are, where they went to high school. It helped me feel less self-conscience when people knew who my dad was.

You are a respectable person, a man with integrity, a man with values and you are really smart. It has been easy to look up to you.

When I was little, you treated me like I was your little girl, but still let me be one of the boys. You made me feel like I was pretty special, you still do.

Growing up, you had a nickname for almost all my friends, you made them feel welcome, you still do. Whether it was calling them "Brows" or by their last name, they still remember your chumminess.

You have a fondness for many people, whether it is your nieces and nephews, brother and sister in laws, your own sisters, people in your neighborhood - it taught me to try to do the same.

My kids make you grin, laugh and smirk - thanks for loving them. They love their Opa.

Thanks for telling Dave the things you did when he asked you if he could marry me.

Thanks for being my dad, I love you.