Unadulterated Perfection

I wrote this July 8, 2011 while visiting my dad who lives in Inkom, Idaho.  I didn’t realize just how much I missed my dad until I drove up to his house.  There is something very special about my relationship with my dad.  He has always supported me, even when he may not have wanted to and he has never given up on me, even though he may have wanted to!  This is for the most amazing man in my life…My Daddy.

As I am sitting here on the front steps of my father’s house – I felt inspired to write.  Picture this: chirping birds, a bubbling creek, a lone cricket singing in the sage brush, the sound of sprinklers in the rancher’s field, the sun on my face, the mountains welcoming the sun over the horizon and my happy dad in the background discussing broken wells with his good friend.  This is the picture of simple, unadulterated perfection in my life. 

        I woke up this morning (thank you ill-timed alarm) to see the sun peaking over the mountain and hitting the mountains across the valley, the clouds making way for the morning’s entrance and silence.  No noisy neighbors with vulgarity escaping their lips or screaming children unaware of the time or their rudeness.  A girl could get used to this!

As dad hands me a cup of coffee and begins to prepare breakfast, we begin to discuss the dysfunction of the state’s education system.  It’s during this conversation that I realize how grateful I am for my education and my parent’s insistence for me to apply myself and learn as much as possible as well as learning how to think for myself.  Thank you Mom and Dad.  I am a lucky girl to have such amazing parents.

Thank you universe.

My dad is one of the funniest people I know.  He is also one of the most AMAZING men I know...actually, he’s the most amazing man in my life.  He is extremely smart, funny, wise, and generous to a fault.  Oh!  And don’t get me started on his killer cooking skills.  Every time dad and I can spend time together I realize how fortunate I am to have someone in life who has always been on my side, in my corner, always cheering me on and even when I fall (which he always allows me to do) he is there to pick me back up, clean out the wounds and point me in a safer direction.  

Throughout my childhood I watched my dad go through many struggles and over a fair amount of hurdles and he has never (at least in front of me) given up.  In fact the only time I have ever seen my dad cry was when we knew that my Gramms was going to die and again at her memorial.  Maybe that’s when I began to realize that even though my father is my Superman (and that’s his ringtone) he is most definitely human.  Thank you dad for teaching me to be a good person, that I should always think for myself and never be afraid to stand in opposition, and for showing me that humor is an important part of life.  Thanks dad for who you are and for teaching me to become me.