Happy Birthday, Dad

Happy Birthday Dad

Sixty-one years ago today, the world became a better place with the introduction of Larry Baer. Today is my dad’s birthday. I am dedicating today’s blog to all the things I can think of that make my dad… well… my dad.

• He is one of 6 kids.
• He looks like his mom. *
• He is a conservative Republican. *
• He is a total goof-ball. *
• He is an Engineer *
• He is one of the smartest people I know. #
• He can STILL take apart almost anything and put it back together. #
• He picked up golfing in the last 10 years, loves it and is GOOD at it. #
• He loves to fish and is GOOD at it, too.
• He loves his grandkids. *
• He is very capable of just about any handyman work. #
• He will do anything for you – especially handyman work – and only complains sometimes. (just don’t ask for plumbing help or drywall finishing help) #
• He farts A LOT! %
• He doesn’t like to spend the night away from home unless on vacation.
• He retired in his early 50’s. #
• He is very opinionated and loves to argue, but claims he doesn’t. %
• He is often the only one in the room that is cold.
• He is a devout Catholic/Christian. *
• He loves pie. %
• He has a metabolism equivalent to a racing bicyclist – stays skinny while eating more red meat and drinking more beer than anyone I know. #
• Not much will keep him from playing with his grandkids, golfing, and fishing (within reason).
• He has just about every tool imaginable (except a wet saw we recently discovered when we needed one)
• He is smart with his money. *
• He loves the farm and all that comes with it – feeding his cows, piddling around with tractors, tinkering with this and that.
• He likes beer. %
• He is indecisive. %
• Since I can remember, he has planted and tended to his own vegetable garden (and like most vegetable gardeners I know, he grows WAY more than necessary) yet he has never taken good care of our lawns.
• He worked for MANY years in jobs he didn’t love and lived in cities he hated just to provide for us, put us through school and retire in the country while young enough to enjoy it because that was his responsibility. #
• He used to hitch-hike to and from college back in the 60’s.
• He was NEVER a hippy.
• He coached my basketball team as a kid even though he knew NOTHING about basketball because no other dads volunteered. (We didn’t win much, but he tried, and I am sure he hated it.)
• He can sleep while sitting up in a wooden kitchen chair.
• He has always been able to watch TV through a newspaper and closed eyes and YOU HAD BETTER NOT CHANGE THAT CHANNEL!
• He’s just plain AWESOME! #
  

I LOVE YOU DAD. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

* Traits I inherited
# Traits I WISH I inherited or still hope to
% Traits I inherited I wished I didn’t

KEEP BELIEVING