Giving Thanks - Day 4

My Dad!  Today is his birthday.  He is 63.  He is Liam's hero.  And I know why, because growing up, he was my hero too.  He's larger than life sometimes.  You'd just have to know him to understand, but if you think of The Marlboro Man (not PDub's hubby, but the actual guy on the billboard), Bob Villa, Cesar Milan, and Bill O'Reilly all rolled into one, then you'd be pretty confused have a good idea of who my dad is.  There's pretty much nothing my dad can't do, fix, learn, or teach.  (In my lifetime, I've known him to break horses, fish, rodeo, rope, ride bulls, ride horses, raise cattle, grow tomatoes, build a house and many barns, and teach me to back a goose-neck horse trailer.)  He's patient (he helped me put my garden out one year... do you need any more evidence of the man's patience?  I think not!)  He's a perfectionist (which is why my garden had perfect rows, despite my protest over how much time it was taking him.)  He's a good ol' boy who taught me never to think too much of myself (his favorite saying was always, "There's two perfect people in this world... that's me and you.  And I'm starting to worry about you."), do the right thing and you already know what the right thing is (if I ever asked him "What should I do?"  His reply would almost always be, "I think you ought to save your money and buy yourself a cow."  Now this may sound funny to you, but it wasn't amusing as a teenager when the question was something like, "I don't have money and all my friends are going to the Dairy Queen tonight.  What should I do?" or "My check engine light is on in my car.  What should I do?"), be honest, tell it like it is (maybe that's a lesson he should have kept to himself, it's gotten me and him in more trouble than it was worth... come to think of it, maybe that's why my mom is so reluctant to give her opinion... hmmmm), have an opinion (boy do I!) and stand for something, work your butt off and you might get a little spending money to go to town on.  'Cause that's what country kids do.... they go to town.

Psalm 13:5-6

5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.