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I didn't forget Dad, I just got preoccupied, as I so often do in the midst of raising kids, and forgot to post this on Sunday when I should have...but better late than never, right?

My Dad is an icon. His family came to California from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and they lived near Weed Patch Camp for several years in true Steinbeck-ian style. He picked cotton and other crops to help contribute to his family's income and was the first of his siblings to finish High School and the only one to graduate college. He graduated from Arvin High School and later went back to work at the Probation Department in the town where he'd been raised. He served in the Air Force during the Korean war, and later in the Naval Reserves, and even got a Master's Degree, all while providing for his family.

I was thinking about him the other day, because I just started back to school again myself, and I was wondering how he found the time to work 40+ hours a week and still do his homework. I guess he has my Mom to thank a little bit for that. She held down the fort while he was away, but still, that was a lot for him to take on. But that's just how he is--a hard worker. He has always been a role model for me. Intelligent and wise. Gentle and kind. He has an integrity sadly lacking from a lot of men these days. My younger sister and I joke that he set the bar too high and that's why we can't find men who measure up. Although he pretends to be anti-social, whenever people show up at the house he will talk their ear off telling all his wonderful stories. I told him recently that I want to make a video of him talking about his life, because I don't want to lose the rich oral history he has to pass down. Even though I've heard some of the stories a hundred times, I'm afraid I'll forget them or re-tell them wrong.

Anyway, needless to say I am proud of him and so blessed to have him as my Dad and my friend. Happy Father's Day, Dad, a couple days late.