I really miss my dad. He's in Alabama for the winter with my mom. This is my favorite picture of him. In this picture he was seventeen. He married my mom a year later. 
Did you see that? I had to take a picture of a picture so that I could show you! My kids have not had time to show me how to scan. Maybe for Christmas they could teach me Scanning 101. I'd better put that on my Christmas list or know one will pay attention to it!
Anyway, when I was a little girl I thought that I would marry my dad. I would bring my friends in to "look" at my dad. When my brothers and I were young, he worked two or three jobs to make ends meet. As soon as he sat down he fell asleep. It wasn't a real nap, it was a "cat" nap.
So I would parade my girlfriends past my handsome daddy. "Isn't he cute?" I would ask and they would all shake their heads "yes" because no one wanted to wake him.
The entire time I was growing up I was always crazy about my dad. And it wasn't because I was the favorite. He didn't have favorites. I actually thought all girls were wild about their daddies until I started talking to friends in middle school and they thought their own dads were "dumb" or "old."
Jump ahead to high school and at that time I remember my friends telling me that my your dad is was good looking and nice. He really never said much or really interacted with them because he was the strong but silent type.
Even when I look at the picture above I vividly remember how loved and safe I felt with him. This picture was Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. I burst in the room with something to say and once again my daddy had given me his undivided attention.
Enjoy your vacation, dad. I miss you. Relax and come home safely.
Love, Carey
