people i love: dad.

today is my dad’s birthday, and i'd like to tell you about him. it’s without saying that a father is hugely important in the life of their children. i know mine was [and is] for me. and what stands out the most in my mind from my childhood is that he was always there. not just present, but engaged, involved, wholehearted. he usually knew the right thing to say [with the exception of the time he told me of his lack of faith that i would learn to cook, that may not have been the right thing to say, although it motivated me to prove him wrong], and he said it in love. he was always there.

he was there when my elementary school basketball team went nearly undefeated for four years [1 loss in 3rd grade, 1 tie in 4th grade, no losses in 5th and 6th grade...yes, i remember], coaching us while we creamed our peers.

he was there to baptize me in 2nd grade. i wore a red tank top and shorts, and he prayed with me before i went under.

he was there when i got my first [and only] “B” in high school and spent the afternoon sobbing, while my brother and his friend laughed at me[my brother’s birthday is sunday, can’t wait to share all of my memories with him!].

he was there when i left for school every morning. up until the day i said goodbye to my parents as they dropped me off to start college, he said the same thing as i left, “bye katie, remember whose you are.”

he was there at nearly every high school track meet. he would stand at the end of the curve every time i ran the 300-meter hurdles. his voice was the only one i could hear.

and then there’s those seven words. i've written about these before. every monday when i was in kindergarten, he would pick me up from school, take me to taco bell [two crunchy tacos with no lettuce was always my order], and then we would drive home. when we pulled in the driveway, he often turned to me and said, “katie, i really like being with you.”

i can’t explain how important those words were. or how important “remember whose you are” was. or how important the words he said to me after a rough hurdle race were. but i can tell you he was always there to say them.

and finally, he was there this summer, to not only walk me down the aisle, but to also be our officiant, landscaper, and handy-man extraordinaire. and he ended our ceremony with,

“katie, remember whose you are.”

i love you dad. happy birthday.

xoxo.