my daddy's moustache

My daddy has worn a moustache for as long as I can remember. I have seen a few pictures of him without one, but I maintain that the man-without-a-moustache could never be my father.

I know there are millions of great dads out there (the one living in my house included) but I am going to focus on one dad today: mine.

I was born in the same hospital as my dad, in a little town in northern Michigan (the Upper Penninsula) called Hancock. We also share the same cleft chin (or "dimple chin" or "butt chin" or whatever you want to call it). My father & I are certain that the hospital must have grabbed a hammer and gave all its' babies butt chins. Genetics? Nah.

My daddy was always the calm one. I don't ever remember hearing him raise his voice. So, when we were naughty and wanted to confess something, we'd go to him, hoping for a lenient punishment. Instead, he'd always say, "go tell your mother."

We have given my daddy all sorts of nicknames over the years. I think it was my older sister, Jasmin, who first coined the name "Popparoni", and from there it went on to Papa-Rapa, Papa Romano, and many more. My favorite name for him, though, is daddy. Whenever I see a man with a moustache, I think of my daddy and how much I love him.

My daddy is totally handsome and this picture doesn't do him justice:

I always wished that I got my daddy's good looks. He's half Italian & he has the darker skin & dark features to prove it. Not to mention, he's always been skinny, which is a dream of mine.

There's just something about a daddy and a daughter. I love my daddy SO much and I'm so grateful for all the things he taught me. I'm grateful for his calm personality, his smile, the way he will call me up out of the blue just because he hasn't talked to me in a while.

I have so many fun memories of my dad. He used to "hang and quarter" us, in which he would hang us upside-down and give us a quarter. He would go on weekends to the National Guard and always bring us home something. He brought home hamburgers on Friday nights. If I remember correctly, he was always the one to give our Family Home Evening lessons. Another thing I loved is that he would sit at the piano and play his favorite songs while he sang along- which is also one of MY favorite things to do.

My dad has a great hobby of building with wood. When we were kids he built us a kitchen set out of wood. It was awesome. I'm sure all my friends were jealous of it. He also built a huge wall unit for one house, and added built-in cabinets for another house. It's kind of hard to explain, but he's REALLY good at it. He was and is always in the garage working on something.

Around the time Jared & I got married, my dad was really sick with something he caught while on a business trip to India. The disease is called Amyloidosis, and as explained to me, is worse than cancer. The survival rate is surprisingly low, and my dad had to do go on dialysis. He also received a kidney transplant which only lasted a few years. Now he is back on dialysis. Through all of this, he never complains. You wouldn't even know he has gone through so much, and you wouldn't know that he is in so much pain. He is so brave and optimistic and wonderful and I love him. I could go on forever about my daddy but I think I will stop here.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!