Flashback Friday #8 - Happy Father's Day!

My Dad has a zest for life.  What does that mean exactly?  It means he has so much enthusiasm for life.  He lives life to the fullest.  He takes advantage of opportunities.  He is a go-getter.  He loves to learn!  He is a leader.  And quite frankly, I envy all of this this about him. 

Dad graduated from Virginia Tech in 1974 with a degree in accounting.  He has had several careers in his lifetime since being a CPA and let me mention they have all been from a broad range of fields.  Hence the loving to learn thing.  He knows a little bit about everything. :)  I am jealous of how he can take on something new with not a hitch in his step.  He has no fear (or atleast shows no fear) and loves the opportunity to broaden his knowledge whenever he gets the chance.  I love how he is an accomplished, successful business man yet he is also a devoted husband and dad (& Pops), too.  I love how he knows how to be serious, but he knows how to be a big kid and have fun, too.  Dad is very much the life of a party.  Just ask anyone that has been to a wedding where my Dad was in attendance.  He is the guy in the middle of the dance floor, all night long. Or the guy making new friends in the food line.  :)

Abe, Me & Ben w/ Dad (click it to make it larger)
I had another great picture w/ just me & Dad, but since Mom's picture included all of us kids, I made Dad's picture the same.  Plus the rule w/ Flashback Friday is only 1 picture!

He is the type of guy that makes you get excited about the most simple of things.  My brothers and I often joke about him finding some random thing and then making us believe it is the.best.thing.ever. Whether it be a phone app, a pepper grinder, or a composter, he can make you believe it is the BEST invention to date.  I guess that is the salesman in my Dad.  What is the saying?!  He could tell ice to an eskimo?  Or he could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves?  Yes, that is my Dad.  Growing up he always was pushing us to be the best we could be, whether it be on the court or in the classroom. He would leave me notes before basketball game days in high school.  One note I recently found in a box of old stuff said "Moz, you must always be a threat to score 1st, pass 2nd. I love you no matter what.  The dollar is for some treats. Love, Dad" There you have it...a typical note from Dad including some basketball advice, but also showing his love because that never, ever wavered (even if you didn't box-out or move your feet in the latest game or if you brought home a speeding ticket from beach week).

I often joke that my Dad is a dork (to his face of course), but in all honesty, I love him and calling him a dork is a term of endearment in my eyes.  He makes me crack up laughing every time I am with him.  He has so much love to give.  My friends know that he is a hugger.  Don't reach out for hand shake, go for the hug!  Just yesterday morning I was on my way to work and I got a message from him on my HeyTell phone app (yes, he convinced me to download this app).  His voice message said "Gooood morning sunshine.  I hope you have a grrrrrreat day!" I couldn't help but smile and think about when I was growing up how he used to come in my room so bright eyed and cheery to wake me up.  "Wake up suggies!! Mr. Day is ready to greet you & shake your hand!"  And he would karate chop my back and give me a massage.  Even if you were ticked off and didn't want to wake up, you couldn't be ticked off when Dad woke you up.  You had to smile and laugh.  There was no way you could be mean to someone that was so full of happiness! :)

Just like my Mom, he was our biggest supporter growing up (and still is).  He never missed a ballgame or a band concert or a PTA program or a ballet recital or anything.  Our parents were fully devoted to anything and everything we were involved in.   Dad, thank you for teaching us to always put forth our best effort and do the best that we could.  If we put everything we had into it, then we knew we should have no shame.  Thank you for pushing us to be better athletes, better students, better people.  Thank you for teaching us to work hard and play hard.  In the words of Greg and his recent graduation speech, thank you for teaching us to grow, but not grow up.  You continue to inspire me every day.  I love you to the moon and back.

PS - Dad, you are more like Grandma every day.  Abe, you are more like Dad every day. :)
PPS - I promise after this my Flashback Friday posts will go back to being shorter! :)