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I remember...
...playing dress up. He was always such a good sport and would humor this (then) little girl as she put all sorts of girly hair clips in his hair and play make up on his face as part of playing "beauty shop."
...riding in the u-haul to whereever we were moving to next. My brother and I would take turns riding with my mom in the car and my dad in the u-haul. It was soooo cool to ride in the "big huge" u-haul truck with my dad.
...fixing up our playhouse in the back yard. We thought we had the coolest playhouse/treehouse in the world. We loved it!
...playing in his office at church. He'd be working (or at least trying to) and we'd get to hang out with him and play.
...all those trips to camp. My dad LOVED taking kids to camp. He'd work his butt off all day, but would still have the time to play pranks on people and make everybody laugh!
...him praying with me. He knew just what to say and he'd always follow it up with a prayer. I learned about the power of prayer from my dad. It wasn't something that had to be taught through words/lessons. It was taught through his actions.
...riding the bus to football games. I was in the Colorguard my last 3 years of high school and my dad drove the band bus.
...him in the stands at every single game. Even when he had a major dental procedure done and was in extreme pain, he still came to the game. It always meant the world that he'd show up each time.
...meeting for supper while at Montevallo. There were quite a few times that we'd have classes on the same night, so it was a treat to meet for dinner and have that time together.
...all of the airport drop-offs and pick-ups. While in Senegal, I got all too familiar with the teary goodbyes and joyful hellos that occurred at so many airports.
...those "I'm proud of you"s. As sad as it was to say goodbye, my dad never forgot to say I'm proud of you for following the call of God.
...when he found out he was going to be a Pawpaw. Anyone that knows my dad knows he was made to be a grandfather. I remember as clear as a day the night we went to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet up for dinner and them sharing the exciting news. I've never seen my dad so over the top excited in his life!
...the trip to Joe's Crab Shack. My dad loves seafood and has always wanted to visit this restaurant. So last September, we finally made it there. Even though his appetite had started dwindling at that point, I'll never forget the pure joy on his face while sitting there.
...him preaching while sick. My dad is a preacher. He is passionate about sharing the Word of God with anyone who'll listen. There were times when he'd preach from his hospital room or even the hospital bed in his home. I even remember one time when he was at church preaching and got extremely light headed. He'd preach for a few minutes, almost pass out, compose himself, and preach some more. It was an inspiration to see for sure!
...playing Family Feud in the hospital room. My dad loves him some Steve Harvey on Family Feud. He will laugh and laugh while it's on. Well, one night when he's half out of it, he asks me to find some Family Feud questions online so we can play. So he, my mom, and I "played" for close to an hour. He was so weak at the time but he laughed and laughed. It was so fun to see him perk up for that time.
There are a million or more memories I could share, but these are the ones that jumped out at me right away.
My dad's health is like a roller coaster. One day he's at the top, doing great. And the next day, he's at the bottom and we're worried that it's the end. Today's somewhere in the "low-middle" range. But you know...
I'm hoping I have many many more moments with my dad that develop into cherished memories.
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