Sisters Away: Dad rocks too

OK ladies, can you believe we have totally slacked on here and it's been over two weeks since our last post? Not good. Of course, being able to reach Em at our convenience has probably played a bit of a roll, but still. Let's get back on track, shall we? Rant over... Moving on...

Back when I posted about seeing Addie and Mom together at the cabin, I fully planned to write a piece about Dad as well. Time ticked on, yada yada yada, and I didn't get right around to it. Well seeing as today is his 57th birthday, I can't think of a better time to dote on him.

It's always funny to me to think about how our relationship with Dad has evolved over the years. I would never have said growing up that I was "a Daddy's girl" but in hindsight, I think all three of us were. I have the greatest memories of him walking through the door after a long day of work and getting down on the floor to play our made-up games while Mom got dinner ready.

"Get you-get you" and "The Little Red Riding Hood" game are two of my absolute faves and when I think really hard, I can still hear us squealing as we ran down the hall to hide in Mom's legs as she stood at the stove. (I'm sure she loved that, by the way!)

With those times in mind, I think one of the greatest lessons Dad ever taught us, whether he knew it or not, was the importance of working hard and playing hard too. Dad has always had the most incredibly strong work ethic. I can never EVER remember him being late to work or neglecting anything having to do with work. He always stood by his responsibilities and he made sure that if he said he was going to do something, he did it. No matter what.

Sometimes we joke about him being a workaholic and while that may be true, I have nothing but admiration and respect for how he instilled this value in all of us. We have all done well in our careers in a huge part, because of him.

Then there's the flip side. I believe we can all agree that Dad is the most fun ever when he's in "vacation mode". That doesn't necessarily mean that he's actually on vacation, but it means he has totally checked out of everything that brings stress into his life and he's OURS. There is a sparkle in his eye that isn't there any other time. The muscles in his shoulders relax and he laughs a lot more. He tells a lot of jokes and stories. He isn't a pastor or a pilot or an engineer. He is just Dad--or in this case, Pepere.

My goodness, I loved seeing him unwind with his granddaughter in Michigan. The Last Resort kept its promise once again and gave us all the gift of watching deep bonds grow stronger. Imaginations ran wild and the freedom to relax and forget about the world took over. The second those magic cushions came out, they were in a land all their own.

They giggled together...