Happy Mother's Day, Dad

My dad....... (with LOTS of help from my grandma, aunt and step-mom) raised me. He has had me in his care since I was only 1 years old. There are not even enough words to describe how much I love my dad. I know he's not a mom, but he was my mom, of sorts. Here are a few things I learned from my mom/Dad:

To be nice to everyone and always smile!

How to bait a hook and cast a rod.

How to take the fish off of the hook.

How to eat the fish without getting the bones caught in my throat.

How to drive a boat.

How to water-ski, wake-board and tube!

How to go mud slinging in the back of a truck without falling off.

How to lift weights and take care of my body (yeh, my dad's obsessed too).

How to eat crab-legs while getting the most amount of meat possible.

How to mow the lawn and plant flowers.

How to clean the vehicles.

How to paint!

How to SWIM!!!!!!!

How to keep on loving people when they are driving you nuts.

How to play mind-games (this is a secret between me and my dad).

How to eat oysters without crackers or sauce - just raw. YUMMY!

How to flip my eye-lids up and keep them that way for at least 10 seconds.

How to check for the PH balance in a pool and make sure its chemicals are stabilized. (This knowledge has gotten me far in life. HAHAHA)!!!

How to drive! This is why my dad has soooo many gray hairs.

How to watch Star Trek.

How to lift my hands high and scream really loudly on a roller coaster.

How to squint my nose when I smile. He does this too and it's precious.

How to do a front handspring on land and a back flip in the pool. We practiced these for like forever.

Last but not least, how to love my own kids despite my imperfections!!!!!!!

I love that my dad was just himself with me as he raised me. He didn't try to be a "mom." He was a dad, acting as mom, but he was still a dad. Does that make sense? And he loved to spend time with me doing "fun" stuff - exactly the way I am with my kids.

Happy Mother's day, DAD!!! I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!!!

and a special shout out to my Aunt Kim , Mema and Charlann who filled in ALL of the gaps and at one time or another had me under their care too.