Happy Birthday, Dad!

At the end of this week comes a very important day! It’s my wonderful father’s 50^th birthday. I’m sure he’s mortified reading that I just posted his age on the internet, but in my opinion he just gets cooler with age, so what’s the big deal? So in honor of his birthday I’ve decided to post 50 reasons (in no particular order) why I love my dad   

1. He keeps up on all the celeb gossip and e-mails me when he think’s there’s something I might be interested in.
2. He used to bring me home boiled peanuts, even though he hates them.
3. He used to watch ER with me.
4. He balls up his hands and says “curses” when something goes wrong.
5. He went to every single dance competition, recital, cross country and track meet, and cheerleading competition for years and years and never complained.
6. He plays Monopoly with me on the back porch in the summers.
7. He brings me a pen back from every trip he goes on.
8. He tried to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon when I asked him to. Big mistake.
9. He likes cemeteries, like me.
10. When I say Hilshire, he says Farms. HILSHIRE! FARMS! GO MEAT!
11. He pretends not to like the stuff I watch on TV, but sometimes he gets sucked in.
12. He quotes the Funny Talking Animals video with me.
13. He agrees that my mom makes burritos that are too hot to eat.
14. We celebrate Sabado Gigante together.
15. He plays video games with me.
16. He calls me when songs from Guitar Hero come on the radio.
17. He tolerated my Spice Girls phase. He actually like it.
18. He sends me packages at school addressed to Brooke Trout.
19. He sometimes gets yelled at by my mom for something I did.
20. He pretends to be annoyed when my friends come take over, but he takes us places and takes pictures for us anyways.
21. He loves to go to the bookstore. And bring me with him.
22. He hides “poopy flowers” around my room in the spring. And then we begin a war.
23. He came for daddy/daughter weekends at Elon.
24. I am the only person he knows that is blood related. Which is special!
25. He always wins me little toys in the crane machines in arcades.
26. He taught me how to drive.
27. He scoops the guts out of my pumpkin cause he knows how much I hate it.
28. He still hides Easter eggs in the backyard every year.
29. He likes playing Sardines with us in the mountains.
30. Whenever he fixes my car, he always cleans up the trash too.
31. He still shakes every Christmas present to try to guess what it is.
32. He puts up with a lot of girl talk, living in a house with all girls.
33. Rope-a-dope, rope-a-dope.
34. He takes me and my friends out on the boat and drives while we tube.
35. He is often the voice of reason when I’m nervous.
36. He still sticks pennies to his forehead every time we play BINGO.
37. He drove around Greenfield Lake with me in 10^th grade when I was pretty much homebound.
38. He played beer pong with me on my 21^st birthday.
39. He saves all of my drawings and cards, even from preschool
40. He always eats Kilwins and sits on the courthouse steps with me.
41. He reads my blog.
42. We used to have a system worked out when I was little. He would give me a piggyback if I would cover and warm his ears.
43. “Goodnight my handsome prince.” “Sleep well, princess”
44. He still does the ‘cow’, ‘Christmas tree’, and ‘horse’ symbols when we go to the mountains.
45. He watches every episode of One Tree Hill that I’m on, even if you can barely see me.
46. He can reach tall things, change light bulbs, and carry heavy things.
47. He does the best Kermit the Frog impression of anyone I’ve ever met.
48. He sleeps curled up and rubs his feet together before he falls asleep. Just like me!
49. He runs really fast and wins “major awards”
50. He’s MY daddy and he loves me

This clip from ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ always reminds me of me and my dad. My dad’s not very loud and he’s not always up in all of the excitement. But he’s there for the quiet moments, when I need him. And that’s what’s important to me.

So happy birthday, Dad! I love you and I’m glad you were born!