Dad's Retirement Party

The morning of my dad's party he asked Gina if we should go to brunch after we took our family photos. What a great idea Daddy friend! We didn't even have to do anything, it was all his idea. He was a bit confused in the beginning when he saw a couple of people he knew, but eventually he understood that he had not planned his retirement party, but in fact his family had.
























This was truly a special day to recognize the man who has always supported me. My sisters and I look back and joke that he raised us like we were training for the Olympics. I will never forget riding my Pink Huffy all the way from our house to the beach and back. Do you know any other third grader who can do that? Or racing him home from the church where he put his arm out to slow me down because he couldn't stand the idea of his little girl beating him. Even funnier is that I was SO mad that he cheated because I hate losing as much as he does. He was the one who patiently told me to "compensate" when I was pitching and the ball kept hitting the plate in the same exact place, pitch after pitch. After walking many batters the inning was over. With big tears, sobbing I cried to my mom, "Dad keeps using words I don't even know." I didn't realize then he was just trying to improve my vocabulary. He took me to tournament after tournament, even when he was exhausted from working his superman hours, he would just take naps in the car between games. He did crazy things that I don't know any other dad would do. He would drop my friend and me off at the beach, a concert, or an amusement park and wait in the car until I was done having fun. When he would come home from work we would yell, “Daddy!” and he would hug and kiss us and call us his princesses. He even started calling my best friend princess and took her on as another female in the mix. Because of him, I am truly the best Simon Says director there is. He led us in the game at countless birthday parties and he was really, really good at it. I remember going to work with him and sitting in the court and loving seeing him in his uniform when he was a Bailiff. I wanted to be a police officer until 6th grade. Although he was never a great teacher and math "help" ended up disastrous, he has always been supportive of my education. He helped me through my BA, my Credential, and my Masters. He let me live at his house countless times (not excluding dead beat boyfriends). He always makes up "cute" names for my boyfriends but is kind enough to never tell them what they are if they can't handle it. He is the funniest and wittiest man I know but laughs at himself when he knows his family is making fun of him. When I lived in LA every weekend I would call him up and say "Want to go to brunch?" and he would say surprised, "That's a good idea!" truly believing this tradition we had for years was a new idea each weekend. He took my dog when I went to Thailand and loves her even though she is not a good dog. She has destroyed his yard but my dad just said, “She’s a war dog! She’s building trenches, getting ready for War!” Living in a house with four women he learned that bringing home Sam’s Club supplies of feminine products was just life and took it in stride. I like that when my mom was mad at me for working too much, she said, "You're just like your father!" it made me happy because it could be a lot worse than having a strong work ethic. When I was in college and started "Forensics" he went to tournaments having no idea what it was about but liked and supported me and thought it was cool anyway. When I started belly dancing, he went to all the Middle Eastern events, all my shows, and started taking me to restaurants with dancers. It made me so happy! He would buy me exercise and instructional tapes he happened to come across. Even though it made me a little uncomfortable, I secretly liked that he brought tapes of my dancing to work to show random people because I know it meant he was proud of me or at least thinks I’m good. I know I have disappointed my dad at times but he has never said anything that he might later regret. I don’t think I would have had the confidence to try half of the things I have in my life if it wasn’t for his support and confidence in me. The many times he has shown me how proud he is of me shine bright in my mind and make me feel like the luckiest women in the world to have such a loving father. As a woman, I know what an important part a male role model plays in a girl’s life. I couldn’t have asked for a better father and know that having him makes me confident, strong and loving in my relationship. I have the best Daddy in the world and I love him very much!