50

One of my favorite smells is the smell of freshly-cut grass. It reminds me of Fridays growing up. 

When I was younger, my dad would have Fridays off. On Friday, Dad would spend time under the lawn mower, tinkering with the thing to get it to work correctly, then spend awhile mowing the grass. To this day, the smell of grass or sound of a puttering lawnmower makes me think of my father. 

Today is his birthday. He's 50, which is apparently VERY young for a dad, though I don't think that he's very worried about how his age is perceived. I've known him for 24 of those years (we calculated and it's next October that I'll be exactly half his age) and I'm going to be honest: I've got a a great dad. The best? I'm going to go with yes. 

Here are a few little memories and things:

That the lawnmower mentioned above was around before I was and until recently (for what I know) was still kicking, thanks to a lot of Friday tinkering. 

I remember nights where we'd walk out on the golf course and he'd show us the stars, pointing out planets and constellations. 

To this day, he calls me a couple times each week to talk as he drives home from work. 

He's way more techy than I'll ever be, always the one to troubleshoot my computer, point out the best laptop to purchase, and show me the best iPhone apps. 

We'd go on bike rides of a decent distance when I was in high school, getting up at 6am to ride over both bridges in Beaufort, stopping at McDonalds or Hardees to celebrate that we were halfway. 

Since I've known him, there have been only three days where we did not have a dog. My dad is a dog lover... father to the most spoiled toddlers dogs on the planet. They love him and he loves them. 

Could I say more? Always. 

I am thankful, so thankful, to have a dad like I do. I wish that everyone reading this knew him and could read this, smiling as they said, "Yes, I too have fond memories of this man". 

Here's to the remaining half-century that's before him. 

(now he sounds extra-young)

Love you, Dad