Hey Daddy, this blog's for you!

There are lots of reasons why I love my Daddy.  He took me on my first backpacking trip when I was nine.  It took us all day to hike in two miles before we set up camp.  The next day I decided I didn't want to pack up and hike any further, so we stayed at camp and played cards for two days before our long hike back to the car.

Around that same time, Daddy agreed to coach mine and Jes's softball team.  I know coaching a team is a normal thing for a daddy to do, but my Daddy HATES hot weather.  Being outside all summer in 95+ temperatures listening to 12 girls chanting "I said a boom-chicka-boom, I said a boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom" for 2 hours doesn't make the hot weather any cooler.  The situation may've been more bearable if we won.  We didn't.  We lost.  A lot.

Then there was the swim meet in El Paso.  The meet happened to fall on Father's Day that year.  We celebrated with a relay race.  Each club formed a relay team: 2 swimmers, 2 fathers.  My Daddy hates the water almost as much as he hates hot weather.  Somehow he got roped into being one of the "fathers" for our team.  It was a very brave thing for him to do.  Unfortunately, bravery doesn't make you buoyant.  He managed to flounder his way out of the deep end and into shallow water.  It wasn't pretty, but it sure was a valiant declaration of team spirit.

I could tell lots more stories about how awesome my Daddy is, like how he let me skip school one day so we could ride a motorcycle to Lubbock to eat lunch with my grandma, or how he didn't yell when I ran my mom's Volvo into the menu board in the drive-thru lane the first time I drove to church, but I don't want to brag too much.

So, let me just give you two more reasons why I love my Daddy:  One, and I can't say too much about this without spontaneously combusting into uncontrollable tears, my Daddy has always supported me... no matter what.  He supported me in sports, in school, and in my most recent decision to move thousands of miles across an ocean to Ireland.  Two, he loves my dog, even when she's mostly monster, and that's not always easy.  And oh yeah, he's pretty funny too!

Happy Daddy's Day, Daddy!  I love you!!!--MEO