Ah yes, Hawaiian shirts & rainbow suspenders

Today is my dad's birthday.

As a child I knew that I was lucky to have such an awesome dad. In middle school we had to write a paper on our personal hero's and I wrote mine about my dad. Of course, he made a copy to use later in life to remind me I once that he was great. But I always knew that he was a great man. I always knew I was lucky.

Of course, knowing he was great and still being embarrassed by him went hand in hand. The Hawaiian shirts, those rainbow suspenders...who really wears suspenders? And rainbow ones? He loved those ugly things. One Sunday when I was a teenager, before we left for church, I inform him that his outfit doesn't match, thinking I'm nice not mentioning it's also pretty ugly. He gives me a grin, doesn't say a word, and of course, doesn't change. When the minister asks if there are any joys to announce he stands up and says, "I just wanted everyone to get a good look at my outfit today. According to Dawn, it doesn't match." Of course, everyone laughs.

Working at the post office he rarely had two consecutive days off. As long as I can remember he was off on Wednesday and Sunday. Every Wednesday morning he would take Jordan, Erin & I to Miller's for breakfast. We did this for many years. It got to the point where the waitress knew what each of us wanted, and we just had to say we wanted our usual. I thought this was amazing, but now I am thinking we all got bacon, eggs & toast! Hey, it was still pretty sweet for the three of us! When I was in high school he started eating lunch each Wednesday with one of us. After the first experience I decided to tell him not to come eat lunch with me again because I had a reputation to maintain and he was damaging it. After that didn't work, I cried. He assured me he wouldn't come again. So the next Wednesday, he tells me to have a good lunch and I go to school. At lunch time I hear this loud laughter and in the center of it is my dad. He's not sitting with me...instead he's sitting with a group of guys in my grade. For the remainder of my high school years "he didn't sit with me" but managed to sit with every other group in my grade. Good times.

Anyway, I could fill a journal or two with antics my dad pulled when I was growing up. But those two are classic dad stories. A little bummed I couldn't locate a good picture of the rainbow suspenders but here are some classic pictures of dad.


Dad, Jordan & Erin


Halloween - He never wore a normal costume, always an Alan original!


Sadly not the rainbow ones, but as you can see he did love his suspenders!


This is my favorite picture of me & dad as a young adult. I remember hating this Hawaiian shirt and now it's my favorite one.


One of the last shots we have of dad.

I miss my dad a lot. I wish that my kids knew their grandpa. He would have been an awesome grandpa, just like he was an awesome dad. No matter how many things he did that embarrassed me he was always there for me. He spent many years of his life taking care of other people. At least now, he is relieved of all the stress that came with his life. I just wish we could have had him here a little longer.

Happy Birthday, Dad! We all miss you!