3.20.2006

happy belated birthday dad!

so yesterday was my dad's birthday. went to his all time favorite: china buffet. that man is a sucker for chinese food. especially buffets. picture my silly dad, imitating that little old chinese man, 'hello, you been here over four hour.' never fails. he cracks the joke every time.
always up for some laughs with the family. gotta love that. i love that i appreciate them more every day. i'm not sure if it's just that you don't appreciate them when you were younger... that can't be it. i know i appreciate what they did for me. maybe it's that you stop seeing them as a parent and more of a friend. maybe it's that you grow up and stop being so selfish. start to see the bigger picture. i'm not sure, but whatever it is. it's a good thing.
got him his staple gift request. liquor. i do get a lot of qualities from my mother. being a drinking champ. well, that comes from my dad! :) i know it sounds horrible. but it's all in good fun...
my dad retired while i was in high school. i think it was that far back. and he was bored out of his mind. started work as a truck driver and then went to a school bus driver. qutie the fit considering my dad has the mouth of a trucker and most people wouldn't call him kid friendly. but anywho. money got short for mom and dad. and my dad likes his trips. he's always been a racer. i remember standing at the racetracks as a little girl. watching my dad race his car. we even have pictures of me with giant ear protectors on. let me tell you, i was stylin! my dad got out of the hobby and some of his friends still race. so he likes to take mini trips: st. louis, indy. you name it, he's probably been there. and he works as part of the pit crew for his friends. pretty cool. he knows a lot of the top drag racers and gets pretty good spots on the track for viewing. well, boys being boys. they like to drink and have a good time. he isn't going to splurge on his liquor. so i bought him a ginormous thing of kettle one. hopefully it last the whole summer. he should be in great shape since he never made it thru the absolut from last year!
also gave him some moola. want him to be able to spend it how he wants. not just buy him something i think he would like. don't get me wrong, he would wear it. but he needs to do for him. so whether it be splurging at the gambling boats or buying himself a new computer chair. i'm all for it! so dad, although i know you probably aren't computer savvy enough to ever find this crazy web page, happy birthday and i love ya!
sorry for the mindless rambling. i swear in my mind i do have a purpose. it sometimes just gets lost along the way! :)

3 comments:

Heather said...

I think it's as we get older, we see things in the big picture, vs. our little own world. The bigger the picture, the more we appreciate what we've been blessed with.... :) Happy Birthday Dad! I'll toast to that!

Anonymous said...

aww that's so nice to read about you and your Dad. Makes me miss mine :-( Cool that you have such a great relationship with him Shannon. Enjoy every minute of it. Alcohol, racing and all!

Anonymous said...

you have an amazing way with words. and if, in fact, you get lost along the way as you're typing, rest assured that I'm following you on that journey. and, btw, i don't think it's mindless rambling at all! Happy Birthday, Mr. Shannon's Dad!!