Happy Birthday Dad!

August 2, 2013 /

Dad and Me again

Today is my Dad’s 70th birthday, and this is us back in 1988, when he was a few years younger than I am now. Crazy. I met my dad for the first time in 1987, when I was 21, and then in January of ’88, I flew up to Portland to visit him and meet my sisters, who are twins. The story of why we didn’t meet before, and how we did end up finally meeting, is a long one, and if you’re so inclined, you can find it here.

My dad is a wonderful man, a great person, and a fabulous father. He’s been involved in the counter culture movement since the 1960s, going into the south to register voters, working for alternative newspapers, and working to help secure grant funding for non-profit organizations. He talks the talk, and he walks the walk, always backing up his beliefs, and is a truly genuine person. What you see is what you get with my dad, and that is definitely a GOOD thing.

I can thank him for inspiring me to volunteer for Meals on Wheels, and for always doing his best to work for justice in the world, and for always being on my side. No matter what happens, I know he’s got my back, that he loves me unconditionally, and that he’s there for me. I wish we lived closer than almost 600 miles.

This weekend we are flying up to Portland to help him celebrate his birthday in style. I’m looking forward to spending some time with him, with my beloved step-mom, Julie, with my sisters and their kids and significant others. It’s going to be relaxing and wonderful, I hope. 🙂 Happy Birthday, Dad, I love you absolutely.

5 Comments

  • Rain Trueax

    August 2, 2013 at 11:15 am

    It was very interesting to me reading your story (yeah, i read the whole thing and had never read it before). Having met your mother first through her blog, then you, it added an element to the saga. How wonderful that you have the relationship that you do with your dad and your sisters, that your family expanded with them all.

    The story doesn’t sound as unusual to me, given my own family stories, even though my own life has been pretty straight down the line as someone expects (with a few detours) but my brother’s, my aunts’, cousins’ etc. they make it easy to identify with what happened and how you have made lemonade from what could have been lemons. Happy birthday to your dad and frankly — good work to you both as relationships of any sort are always work. We can’t always control what happens to us but we can choose how we make it work or not. You literally illustrate something I just did a ‘video’ about discussing the idea of loss and how people deal with it or don’t.

  • Nance

    August 4, 2013 at 8:21 am

    I had not known your history regarding your father, so I read your blog series. It’s like a time capsule of history. Fascinating. I’m very, very ordinary and Midwestern in comparison–typical Baby Boomer child in all aspects. I’m really glad you shared that article here.

  • Ally Bean

    August 6, 2013 at 6:29 am

    This photo is sweet. You both look so happy & alive. You are lucky to have met this man– both as a father and as a mentor. I can’t wait to read about how the birthday weekend went.