Five on Friday – An Ode to My Daddy

So I have a funny story for you as the intro to this post today, and I couldn’t have come up with a better start to this post myself if I tried!

Last month for Mother’s Day I wrote a tribute to my Momma, and the evening that it went live she called me to thank me for my sweet words.  She and I chatted for a while and at some point during our conversation I heard my Daddy talking in the background.  The next thing I know I hear him shout, “You better be coming up with some crap about me for Father’s Day!” 

Hahahaha. 

Well Daddy, I had already planned to.  ;o)

Without further ado, Daddy, here is some “crap” about you…

O N E – He is an Incredibly Talented Artist & He Always Fueled Creativity in Our Home

As I mentioned in Momma’s post, I come from a family of creators, and my Daddy actually took his God given creative talent and made a career out of it.  He was the Art Director/Graphic Designer for our newspaper here in town for over 30 years and he also did and still does loads of freelance work.  He is very well known throughout our city, and tons of his pieces hang in buildings and homes all over town.  Heck, tons of his pieces hang in buildings and homes all over the world!

He is talented with any and all mediums – watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, charcoal, pastels, crayon, colored pencil, oils – you name it, and he can draw or paint anything that you could ever request or imagine – portraits, landscapes, caricatures, cars, wildlife.  His talent never ceases to amaze me.  I’ve always told him that he’s going to end up being a world-famous artist after he dies because, you know, rarely any true artists are ever appreciated in their own time.  Isn’t that a shame?

He has had a home art studio since before I was born, so I grew up wandering amongst his hundreds (maybe thousands?) of works of art, his ever growing collection of paints and brushes, and the colorful dust of his pastels.  He put a paintbrush in my hand as soon as my chubby little fingers were adept enough to grasp one, and I sat with him for countless hours and created my own masterpieces while he created his.  As a matter of fact, I did my very first oil painting at the ripe age of five and it is still framed and hanging in my home office to this day.  (You can see it here.)  Some of my fondest memories are drawing and painting with my Daddy.

It’s also a nice perk because I have my very own in-house fine artist so I know my walls will never be bare. ;o)  We have two of his masterpieces hanging in the front sitting room in our house and they are gorgeous and colorful, and they mean more to me than the majority of any of the other things in our entire house.  (You can see the paintings here.  Mine is on the left and his are the two on the right.)

If you are ever in need of a fine artist, please private message me and I will be happy to put you in touch with him.

T W O – He Plays Music by Ear

Have you noticed just how many pictures are in this post of him with a guitar in hand?  He has no idea how to read music nor has he ever taken music lessons, yet he can totally play!  The sound of my Daddy strumming the acoustic guitar is part of the soundtrack of my childhood.  In the evenings, my brother and I would play in the living room and Daddy would often strum his guitar.  He can’t play anything intricate (unless he’s been holding out on us), but he is always able to listen to a song and pick up bits and pieces or the basic melody.  We listened to music constantly growing up, and I’m sure that’s where my love of music started.

 

T H R E E – He’s Forever Preserving Our Family Memories

I can’t even tell you how many times my Daddy has presented me with some old piece of artwork or an old writing assignment and said, “You were going to throw these away, but I saved them because I thought that one day you might like to have them.” 

Ohhhh Daddy, always digging through my trash.  ;o) 

I have a feeling that is where I get my love for all things keepsake.  I am an extremely sentimental person, so my home office is like a shrine to my 35 years on earth... I save everything, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  I know one day I will thank myself (and my Daddy) for having so many neat things to show our kids and grandkids about our lives before they came to be.

F O U R – He is Always Looking Out for My Best Interests

My Daddy has always been in my corner… always, always, always.  He has always looked out for his only little girl, and he has never been afraid to let me know if I was heading down a path that he didn’t think was the very best one for me.  (Not that I was headed down lots of bad paths in life or anything.  Haha.)  He always managed to guide me gently, though.  He was never pushy, and he always let me choose my own way, but he was always there to help steer me in a good direction.

As a matter of fact, he will have you believe that I have him to thank for the fact that I am married to my handsome hubs. 

Once upon a time, I was dating a guy who was not Brian but I was friends with Brian at the time.  My Daddy kindly asked me one day while we were making lunch if I ever thought that I might be dating the wrong person and that maybe, just maybe I should be looking at Brian instead.

Well, I had actually already been considering that by the time he said it, but he’s convinced that he’s the one who put the bee in my bonnet. ;o)

F I V E – He is My Biggest Cheerleader

He has always seen my potential for many things in life, and he has always pushed me to try things outside of my comfort zone.  He, along with my Momma, always taught me never to settle.  He has always been there to help me – whether it was playing catch in the back yard to prepare me for softball or taking up entire Saturdays to drive me all over the state of Georgia for cross country meets – he was always there to offer a hand or to provide encouragement. 

There have been many times in life where I have felt down about something, and he has always had a way of lifting me up and making me realize that I should never give up on my dreams… that I should always fight for what I want. 

There’s nothing better than having someone so encouraging on your side.

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!  Words cannot express how much I love you and how thankful I am to be your daughter.

I hope you enjoyed all of the “crap” that I came up with.  ;o)

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.