the roger bannister i know

I've been very blessed by the relationship I have with my dad. He's always been more than candid about his opinions regarding my outfits, haircuts, boyfriends, grades, etc. While I certainly was not overly thankful for Dad's input/regulations/discipline growing up, I've reached the stage in life where I am truly grateful for how "strict" and "mean" he was while I was under his roof.

A few reasons my dad is the best:

-While I was student teaching, my dad made my lunch almost every single morning, usually complete with an uplifting note, one of which is in still tucked inside my wallet:

Special places

Exist in the hearts of some dads

For special daughters

Like you.

-I don't remember this, but when I was a newborn with colic, Dad made up the "burp-dance" to calm my antsy stomach.

-Whenever I got sick as a child, my dad would hold my hair back as I leaned over the toilet and puked my little guts out (gross!).

-I don't remember how old I was, but one night, my Dad woke me up in the middle of the night to take me to the pond so I could see millions of fireflies in a group of pine trees - just flickering their lights in the dead of the night.

-Another time, Dad woke up all of us kids in the middle of the night so we could go into an open field and look at the Northern Lights over Lake Ontario.

-While I was in Oxford, I got a package in the mail from Dad. It was filled with Frootie Tooties - these tiny little fruit-flavored chewy things from Narby's that I was obsessed with.

-Dad always cut my steak for me, even at my wedding:

photo by Jason Atkins

Suffice to say, my dad's pretty dear to my heart.

photos below by Tom Rivers

hitching the horses on my wedding day

If you look closely, Dad is holding my veil so it won't blow against my face

A modified burp-dance?

"I know you're the right man for her, because she's a better woman with you than she is with her daddy."

I love you, Dad.

Happy Birthday.