Favorite Memories of My Daddy

I know that lots of us think that we have or had the very best daddy.

October 26th was my daddy's birthday.  Although he died a little over

two years ago, I still miss him very much every day.

Because of his career, he was often not at home.   His job took him to

over 130 countries during the span of his career.  Daddy was always

flying off to London, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, New Delhi.  He went to 

almost every corner of Africa, Asia and South America.  He

would often be gone for a month or two at a time.

Sometimes when he came home it would take me a while to get used to 

having him around.  But it never took too long.  His suitcase would always be

filled with some treasure for me.  It would often be a doll from an exotic 

land, or some piece of clothing, or jewelry.  He would have lots of pictures

and exciting stories to tell me about all of his adventures.    

While he was home, every minute he spent with me was quality time.

He put up a tent in the backyard for me.  Not just any tent, but one with

it's own hardwood floor.   It  had running water too.  It was my own 

 little oasis.  I would often pretend that I was on safari in Africa in that

 tent, although not many wild creatures in the suburbs of Chicago.

He planted thick hedges around the perimeter of our backyard very much

like the ones seen in England.  He cut out a little doorway so that my friends

and I could walk through and pretend we were entering a magical world.

In the winter, daddy built a big igloo in the front yard and all the neighborhood

kids came over to play in it every day until it melted.

When I was very young, he read a story to me every night.  But the story was

never the same as it was on the page.  He knew that I knew all of these

stories by heart, so he tweaked them.  And, he always tweaked them to be humorous.  

He would make me laugh every night.

He played practical jokes on me that made me laugh too.

Although he was a fun daddy, he was a good listener too.  He always

took the time to listen to my problems.  

He broadened my horizons and introduced me to the various cultures 

that make up humanity.  He taught me tolerance of others.  Through

him I met many children of various countries and developed the

love of travel.

And most of all, he loved dogs and had the best stories of the many

dogs he had as a boy.

I know that this post is self indulgent.  Thanks for hearing me out.

I can't think of a better topic for me to write about for

Favorite Thing Saturday.   I wish you were here today Daddy

so that we could celebrate your birthday together.

A Favorite Thing

Bentley ~ your grandpa was an almost a bigger dog lover than me.

Have I ever told you the story about his dog Tuxie?

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley