Chicky-Poo turns another year older
today. And it's one of THOSE birthdays.
That's right; my dad's celebrating one
of those “milestone “ birthdays today, one that ends in an “0”.
Those of you who read this regularly know that those of us born with
Koski genes have this thing about aging, which probably explains why
my dad, when pondering the whole situation a couple of months ago,
was wandering around saying “I can't believe I'm this old” to
anyone who would listen.
Well, think of it this way, dad—at
least your age is still in the double digits!
(And yes, I know I'm the greatest son
ever. That crack proves it, right? 8-) )
Despite what he thinks, my dad is not
old. Oh sure, he may have a few extra miles on his chassis today,
but if you were to look at him or at how he acts you would not
believe he's hit a certain “milestone” birthday. Nope; you'd
think you were looking at a guy in the prime of his senior life.
You'd see a guy who bikes and organizes pickleball leagues and runs
condo boards and drives my mom insane. You'd see a guy who loves to
tell stories and watch cartoons and help out his neighbors. You'd
see a guy who's had a blast working hard all of his life and shows no
signs of letting up.
You'd just see my dad, living his life
the only way he knows how.
Like most adults, as I grow older and
gain the needed perspective I recognize a big chunk of my dad in
myself. I recognize the part that laughs easily and smiles whenever
humanly possible. I recognize the part that wants to help out
whenever it's needed. Sadly, I also recognize the part that can come home
with scrapes from a bike accident or a bruised toe from dropping a
can on it. But most importantly, I recognize the part that, in a
way, refuses to grow up and still looks at the world with a bit
of child-like wonder.
I personally think that's the best
part.
Even though I have absolutely no
aptitude for fixing cars nor not much ability to spend hours cutting
down trees (two things at which my dad excels), I'd like to think
that I picked up quite a few of the better parts of my personality
from him. If you ever wondered why I turned out the way I turned out;
well, apparently, he's a big part of it.
Now you know who to blame.
8-)
So happy birthday, dad. Hope you have
a great day down in (what I hope is) the sun & heat. Have a
great day doing whatever it is you want to do, and thanks.
Thanks for doing your part in making me
“me”.
Love,
No comments:
Post a Comment