Tonight in true Baltimore fashion, we’re going to pick crabs for dinner (YUM)!  I can’t wait.  In the mean time here are ten things I love about my Dad. 🙂

10.  His laugh.  You know the saying “when it rains it pours”?  Well I wish there was a comparable saying to laughter because when my dad gets going, he can’t stop.  We have the same sense of humor too and always get a kick out of each other.  The weird jokes in Rat Race that most people don’t get, we are just rolling.  

9.  His attention to detail.  My Dad loves projects and building things.  Being a surgeon, he is incredibly detail oriented and is a perfectionist when it comes to his work.  He helped build the addition to the back of the house, gutted and redesigned the upstairs bathroom and kitchen and loves to garden.  He loves to create things that are beautiful which is why most people assume that the tile work throughout the house was done by a professional and don’t realize that he did it all by reading a book.  The gardens around our house are perfectly groomed with flowers that bloom at just the right time show off brilliant but balanced colors.

8.  His seafood.  He marinates the shrimp, scallops and even muscles in beer and other ingredients and then cooks the shrimp and scallops on the grill.  He does this every Christmas and it is my favorite 🙂

7.  His gentleness.  He can definitely lay down the law when he needs to but my Dad is the person to go to for a good hug.  He’s always there for me when I’m upset and is understanding when I need to cry.

6.  His style.  My love for color and ties comes from my Dad and all the times my Mom took me to the mall to pick out ties.  We’d sit and talk about what color shirts he could wear each tie with and would examine the small prints.  My Dad loves ties and has one for any occasion.  He’s not afraid to wear color and I love it!

5.  His ingenuity.  He can solve problems, and is definitely a creative thinker when on the spot.  When I was six I hit my head on the brick fireplace.  My parents were at the hospital with my younger brother and my Grandmother was watching me.  Blood pouring everywhere he came home right away to fix me up.  I think I have mentioned that I am petrified of needles, so the idea of getting stitches did not go over well.  To avoid this, my dad tied my hair in knots and braids to pull the skin together and create a make shift stitch.  I probably looked a little wacky with a mat of hair in the back of my head but it worked!

4.  His creativity.  Both of my parents are incredibly creative.  This means that a third grade “Family Tree” project turns into vines of ivy with gold paint pen, hand cut ivy leaves for each family member and a huge trifold.

3.  His brilliance.  The amount of information my Dad has stored away in his brain would astound you, it astounds me.  He remembers everything and has a knack for remembering small details.  I will call him up when I think something is wrong medically or if I have a question about a medicine and he will spit off all of the official names of each section of the body and the correct dosage of the medicine etc.  I could not even begin to provide an example because I would mess it up.

2.  His hugs.  I think this is a Dad thing, good hugs.  I’m determined that a guy that gives good hugs, will make a good Dad.  My Dad gives great hugs, especially when I’m crying by the car when I have to leave home (and yes I still do this).  He tends to add in a little bit of “okay you big baby”, not in a mean way but just to help me laugh at myself.

1.  His support.  Whether its the time for tough love, a shoulder to cry on, or someone who is going to help solve a problem, my Dad is always looking out for all four of us.  He went to our games, dance recitals and even traveled down to Richmond for an award ceremony for teachers.  Growing up he was on call and would have to go to the hospital at 3am or drive back from the beach early if he had to but through all of that, he spent all of his other time with us.

There are so many other reasons that admire my father and feel so blessed that 50% of my genes are his.  Cheers to a happy birthday and a hopefully a delicious bushel of crabs 🙂