My Dad has had an enormous impact on the person I am today. I'd like to share some of my favorite Dadisms and photos with you all, just so you can get an idea of his awesomeness.
When's the last time you had your oil changed?
I do not begrudge my father this statement. He taught me about car maintenance and I'm pretty good about getting my oil changed (yes, I bring my own Mobile 1 filter Dad, and I make them remove the cost of the filter they would have used from the bill) use fully synthetic oil (yes Dad I get it changed ever 5k miles). Even now as an adult (at least I claim to be) Dad still asks this question within the first five minutes of seeing me. Dad would also make me check the fluid levels on my car in front of him on a regular basis. Just so he could be sure I knew how.
What did you hit?
The alignment in my vehicle from 16 years of age to about 22 years of age was always terrible. My Dad would get behind the wheel, get a mile down the road and would ask me point-blank, "Shannie, what did you hit?".
My response was to always play dumb.
"Gee Dad, I dunno."
Dad "Shannie. You would remember this. I'm talking about a BIG bump. Was it a curb? Was it an animal?"
Along these same lines my first car had scratches and dents on all four corners. I remember the first time I drove my car without my parents (with my best friend Kandace if I remember correctly) I backed into a wall. I called my Dad hysterically upset and once he found out I was OK, and I hadn't hit anyone else he was fine. He didn't seem mad. We replayed this scene a countless number of times. People backed into me. I backed into mailboxes. A bicyclist rode his bike into my car knocking off the side view mirror (true story).
Nowadays I consider myself to be a good (defensive) driver. It just took me a while to get to this point.
Let's go change your tires.
AH. Those were the days. Every time I came home for a home-cooked meal and a free place to wash my clothes during college my Dad would make me come outside and change my own tire (even though it didn't need to be changed). At the time I thought this was a huge pain in the neck. I later came to appreciate this, as I had three flat tires my first semester at school. There were numerous other occasions I changed tires for myself and my friends who didn't know how to do this. It makes me feel like an empowered woman that Dad made me learn this.
P.S. WHY haven't you forced this torture on Lauren yet, Dad?
Hello! Anybody home McFly?
Some of my favorite memories with my Dad was when I was growing up there were a couple movies we would watch together. The movie that come to mind are the Back to the Future series. When I went through my dreamy adolescent stage...I'm sure it appeared to my Dad I wasn't paying attention when he was talking to me (I was!). He'd say "Hello! Anybody home McFly?" and knock on my forehead A la Biff Tannen, the bad guy from the flick.
You're a day late and a dollar short.
(Used to reinforce that procrastination or passiveness will get me nowhere.)
What you need and what you think you need are two different things.
This one is really deep. My generation often thinks we need things we don't. I believe my parents worked hard to PREVENT me from developing a sense of entitlement. That was pretty difficult as they also wanted to give us fantastic opportunities.
When I was a youth... my Dad has a rather dry sense of humor. He used it on me from a young age. As a kiddo I would wander up to Dad and ask
Shannon: Where's Mom?
Dad: Your mother?
Shan: Yes.
Dad: You don't have a mother, you were hatched from an egg.
Shan: DAAAAAD. UGH!
Then I would storm away and find her on my own.
How about you cut it like Billy Ray Cyrus...
One of the all time best Stuckey stories was when my sister cut her own hair. She chopped all her bangs off, as well as a chunk from the side. When my Dad took Lauren to the beauty shop to let them fix it (without telling my Mom!) he made the suggestion they give Lauren a mullet. Thankfully, they didn't listen and Lauren has lived all 20 years of her life sans mullet.
Grab your glove, let's go throw the ball.
I played little league softball. I was terrible but my parents never let me know I was terrible (until I reached adulthood and received the woeful news). My Dad worked shift work and went to college to pursue his bachelor's degree while I was growing up. Somehow he still found time to grab his glove (and me) to play catch as soon as he came home. I didn't particularly care for it at the time (due to my oft mentioned distaste for sweating) but looking back it was a great thing he did.
Dad, I have this science project...
Bud is an analytical engineer type, while I'm a creative-writing fiction-loving type. As a product of the Clear Creek School District (which encompasses the NASA area) there was a huge emphasis placed on math and science. Believe it or not, I was in an accelerated math program in middle and high school and probably could have pursues a more math and science-heavy college degree (but it held no appeal for me).
However I had projects growing up and my Dad was my partner-in-crime. From the recycled trash monster in second grade, to the hurricane withstanding miniature apartment complex, my Dad was in for the long haul. I mean, how many of my class mates projects contained a working elevator in their mini apartment complex?! Not many. How many fifth graders developed a regular correspondence with scientists from John Hopkins Hospital? Working on science projects with my Dad developed the 'go above and beyond mentality'.
Bud LOVES his girls. My Mom, Sister, Betsy and myself. He should know a lot about women because he's been surrounded for decades. See the photographic evidence.
One of the most awesome things I've experienced with my Dad was the wedding planning process. Because our wedding was in Florida and our rehearsal dinner at my parents house, my Dad put a TON of work into getting the house in condition to entertain a whole bunch of people. My Dad also adopted an wedding-crashing alter ego. He was on a first name basis with Janis, our wedding coordinator at the Hilton hotel, and made a habit of heading to the hotel on Saturday evenings to have a drink and watch the weddings at the location we would be using. Just to get ideas. He'd usually call me and the convo started like this "Oh, I'm having a drink, watching the wedding outside the Hilton. I think I'll pop in and say hello to Janis."
How cool is that? I don't know many Dads who were that involved in the wedding planning process.
2 comments:
Ok, I don't even know your dad and that made me tear up Shan. What a beautiful way to honor your father on his birthday! I hope he prints it out and puts it somewhere he can look at all the time! He's so lucky to have a daughter like you.
Shan, this post totally made me tear up. What a beautiful tribute to Grandbuddy. With this post, I could walk right into a crowded room blindfolded, and by listening to conversations, I think I'd be able to pick him right out. Precious entry!
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