A photo journal comprised of my thoughts on motherhood and other life happenings, as well as some of professional work as a photographer. Southern California is home.
Family is a special thing, isn’t it? It’s my dad’s birthday today and as I recover from spine surgery, I can truly say I don’t know what I’d do without him. Or my mom. Or my in-laws. Or my husband. Or my grandma. Or my sister. Or my friends. This recovery thing is taking a village and I feel very fortunate to have a little village to rely on. Here’s some fun tidbits about my Pops…
-He’s the guy you want at your party. Last Christmas, after a few drinks, he rallied us together and we went door to door caroling in our neighborhood.
-He was a minor league baseball player (left handed pitcher) and he can tell you stories about groupies like Anita Peter Beater. He was also my softball coach. He also cried the day I gave up softball for gymnastics. And then he cried again, years later, when my sister and I framed our old softball cards and gave it to him as a gift.
-He’s incredibly humble and always finds room for improvement.
-He wishes he could sing. In fact, he’s been known to say his dream job would be to be a singer or a hairdresser, which are both totally random if you actually knew the guy. I think of him everytime I hear Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the dock of the bay”. I also think about the time I called my childhood friend to tell her I couldn’t play for a while because he cut my hair so awfully bad I was too embarassed to be seen.
-You don’t want to hear one of his lectures, trust me.
-He cheated in grade school by putting the answers to the test in a tennis ball he had cut open and threw the ball back and forth with his buddy during the test. And if you heard him tell the story, you can still see the pride in his eyes.
-He gets really excited for silly things like leftovers from the night before for breakfast. He’s easy to please.
-He’s left his toast in the toaster and gone to work without thinking twice about it many times.
-He always taught me the value of hard work and instilled a strong work ethic in me from an early age. My mom did the same.
-Currently, he golfs. A lot. Willy would tell you he’s really good. My dad would say he’s okay.
-He can chop corn in half using his bare hand, samurai style.
-He climbed Half Dome last year.
-He squeezed his pet bird to death when he was a youngster while watching the Twilight Zone.
-He owned a rust colored molester van with curtains for a long time and I remember him getting quite emotional on the day he sold it. My sister and I used to sit in the back of it and drink orange soda while he played in his basketball league.
Happy Birthday, Dad. Thanks for taking care of me and my little ones.
Aww, Daddles. It’s funny how we both remember the same stories. I’ve never seen these pics though! We need a day to go through old photos! Oh, and we didn’t frame our old softball cards; we framed a pic of us walking arm in arm in our uniforms. Remember? He’s also left many things in the microwave and left for work. That’s our Daddles!
Having married into this crazy family, over the years I have heard so many funny stories that always involve your dad and Uncle Ricky! When Greg was little he was often on the receiving end of Jeff’s jokes and the tradition continues now with our kids. For example, your dad giving Kyle, who mind you was around 15 at the time, 50 year-old scotch! Getting him ready for his upcoming frat days, I suppose. It’s a testament to your family, albeit Jeff has a lot to do with it, when my kids jump at the chance to go to your house for any function! They love your dad!!! “Happy Birthday Jeffie!!!”
Family is a special thing, isn’t it? It’s my dad’s birthday today and as I recover from spine surgery, I can truly say I don’t know what I’d do without him. Or my mom. Or my in-laws. Or my husband. Or my grandma. Or my sister. Or my friends. This recovery thing is taking a village and I feel very fortunate to have a little village to rely on. Here’s some fun tidbits about my Pops…
sweetness. daddies are the bestest!
Aww, Daddles. It’s funny how we both remember the same stories. I’ve never seen these pics though! We need a day to go through old photos! Oh, and we didn’t frame our old softball cards; we framed a pic of us walking arm in arm in our uniforms. Remember? He’s also left many things in the microwave and left for work. That’s our Daddles!
molester van HAHAHAHAHA!!! Loved reading this.
I love this so much. What a great way to recognize your dad’s birthday. He sounds like a fabulous father. 🙂
Mission accomplished:-) There were tears….
Hey Mr. Hooper!
Having married into this crazy family, over the years I have heard so many funny stories that always involve your dad and Uncle Ricky! When Greg was little he was often on the receiving end of Jeff’s jokes and the tradition continues now with our kids. For example, your dad giving Kyle, who mind you was around 15 at the time, 50 year-old scotch! Getting him ready for his upcoming frat days, I suppose. It’s a testament to your family, albeit Jeff has a lot to do with it, when my kids jump at the chance to go to your house for any function! They love your dad!!! “Happy Birthday Jeffie!!!”