Apparently, sleeping was my LEAST favorite thing as a child.
In the first few weeks of life with my son Dallas, I remember sobbing to my Dad on the phone and asking when things would get easier.
He started laughing (which made me scream in the middle of the street while pushing the stroller with the screaming baby in it), and saying that he and my mom didn't sleep 'til I was five.
FIVE?!
I think that Dallas is what is known as a payback child. :-)
Now that things have calmed down, I can finally laugh along with my dad.
He would work crazy hours at the hospital, and then come home and rock me to sleep on his chest while watching The Tonight Show. He would rock for hours, and once my eyes closed, he would sneak over to the crib and ever-so-gently put me down.
The moment my little toe or elbow touched the mattress.....WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
And it was back to the rocking chair and Johnny and Ed. :-)
Now that I"m a parent (something tells me I will be uttering that phrase a LOT over the next 18 years), I appreciate my Dad more than ever.
I could fill a novel with what I admire about my Dad.
He taught me the value of hard work. He was a doctor, and would meet a sick patient at his office late at night or on the weekend if they needed him. I remember pushing my sister up and down the hallway in the office wheelchair on Saturdays while he examined people. I also liked to pound her knee with the hammer-looking thing to see if her reflex would kick in. She was not as big a fan of that. :-)
My Dad lived out his faith in a quiet way, and personified kindness, honesty, and integrity. He would give patients that didn't have enough money for treatment a huge discount, or he would treat them for free, but he never talked about that or all the nice things he did.
Even though he was busy, Dad always found time for us. Some of my earliest memories are of the two of us sitting side by side and working on our stamp collections. He read a lot, too, which helped instill a lifelong love of reading in me.
Dad, I just want to say that you were right about everything. It has taken me a couple of decades to admit this. In fact, now I wish you had been even stricter. :-)
Thank you for always waiting up for me when I went out and stayed out past curfew as a teenager.
Thank you for installing the alarm system on the house. I know it was more to keep me in than the bad guys out, but I am now so glad that sneaking out was never an option. :-)
Thank you for coming to get me in the middle of the night when I was at Melanie Barker's house, and making me come home immediately as a punishment. I know I shouldn't have let Melanie wear my sister's new sweatshirt from Express and then lied about it, but that incident has always stayed with me and helped teach me that actions have consequences.
Thank you for listening to me on all of my radio shows over the years, and emailing everyone you know to tell them to listen to your daughter. And thank you for going on the radio and giving away the tickets to the Prince concert so many years ago when I was in Portland. If you have never heard a 70-something man do a ticket giveaway for Prince tix, you are really missing out. :-)
Thank you for loving Dallas so much, even though you haven't met him yet. He loves you already, and adores playing peek-a-boo with his Grandpa on Skype.
Dad, God knew exactly what he was doing when he made you my father. I am so sorry that I let so many years go by before telling you this. I love you. Happy Father's Day!
King Of The World by Point Of Grace
Spinning around of the tops of his feet
smiles of the angels can not be so sweet
wide blue eyes and piggy tails swirl
shes her daddy´s girl
cuz he knows the jokes that always make her laugh
takes her for ice cream instead of her nap
at the end of the day by the light of the moon
they turn up the music in their living room
and she yells
dance me dance me around till my feet dont ever touch down theres nothing better than being your girl and if i am your princess then daddy you are the king of the world
its funny how life moves in circles of time to think not so long ago that face was mine houses get smaller we take different names but some things in life stay the same
dance me dance me around till my feet dont ever touch down theres nothing better than being your girl and if i am your princess than daddy you are the king of the world
some day she'll go off and find a life of her own and marry a good man and make a happy home until she comes back and sees with those same eyes what time can not disguise she walks through the door with that look on her face cuz daddy´s brown hair has all turned to gray they talk for hours they cry and they laugh watchin old movies and thinking back, just as she turns to go she says hey dad how bout one for the road
dance me dance me around till my feet don´t ever touch down
dance me dance me around till my feet dont ever touch down cuz theres nothing better than being your girl oh no theres nothing better than being your girl and if i am your princess then daddy you are the king of the world
king of the world
Spinning around of the tops of his feet
smiles of the angels could not be so sweet
