Happy Birthday ~ Cliff!

Happy Birthday Cliff!

Today is my Dad's birthday "79"!

Wow! That sounds like an old man, but he really doesn't have an old man's spirit. He still seems the same way he was when I was 18.

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Things I really love about my Dad.

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He likes to tease and have fun with everyone, even our pets (okay this was an acquired taste, I didn't always love it).

He used to pay me a quarter to be quiet on car rides.

He taught me how to be independent and especially how to drive in new places and not be afraid.

He knows what he likes and doesn't waver or give in, even when I beg.

He has 5 sisters and 1 brother.

He always claimed he hated cats, but brought a stray home from work that I had been nurturing and really really wanted. She had her kittens in his closet.

He taught me the importance of being a "smooth" driver, so everyone in the car was comfortable and it was easier on the car.

We gave our son his name.

He can admit when he is wrong.

He is honest and has integrity.

He let me bring all my dogs to stay with him... even though he isn't a fan of dogs. I think he even learned to like the "obedient" one.

He loves my son, bigger and more than life... it's the sweetest thing and makes my heart grow 4 sizes bigger to watch them together.

He gives everyone a nickname.

Mine was Bethaleen (I have heard worse, so I won't complain)

He hasn't called me that for a long time.

He is a great driver.

He used to use me as an example (of what not to do) in front of co-workers to get them to work harder (it made me so mad); but then I would find candy bars hidden in my desk.

He has his own way of saying "I'm sorry" and "thank you".

He gets hooked on something he likes to eat or drink and stocks up on it. A few "kicks" I can remember were...

applesauce

chocolate pudding

Pepsi Light (with lemon)

and most recently Tuscan Tomato soup from Safeway. (so funny)

He claims from all the years he drove truck, he has backed up more miles than I have driven forward. He knows about how many miles he has driven in his lifetime. He has a few million miler belt buckles given to him from Kenworth.

He used to sing in the kitchen, it would start out as a real song, but then he would make up his own words. I haven't heard him do that for a long time.

I have never seen him cry, but I have heard tears in his heart a couple of times.

He is a Mason and has a very strong testimony of God, but doesn't share it with many.

He is deaf in one ear, but has an incredible knack for hearing and recognizing certain sounds out of the other... like the kind of engine under the hood of a truck while driving down the road.

He has taught me how to be a better mother and wife, and I love him and cherish all the fun times we have had together! Sorry I was a rotten disrespectful, unappreciative teenager.

Happy Birthday Papa!