Birthdays and BIRTHdays

So today is my dad's birthday. . . .should I tell you how old he is, or is that rude?  He was born in the 50s, let's have that suffice.

My dad is, in many ways, a very cool guy, so I thought in honor of his birthday I would share a few things that I particularly like about him:

*He eschews shoes (I really wanted a reason to use that phrase) in the summer months as much as possible.  As some of you may have noticed--I realize its very subtle--this is a habit I delightfully inherited.  While good at making a social impression when the situation necessitates it, formality is something he never has valued much in daily life, often leaving for his office with hair unbrushed and little to nothing on his feet.  I learned from his example both the importance of playing by the rules and making a good impression when appropriate, but being casually at ease the rest of the time.

*He has a delightfully weird and often wildly subversive sense of humor.  Possessing in myself a nature that is inherently averse to anyone assuming authority over me or my life, being blessed with a father who openly mocked unjust, incompetent or just plain evil authority figures or systems has been (for better or worse) a comfort and delight to me.  I also grew up finding humor in ways and places most people never would because of his sometimes bizarre amusements, and that has made life ever so much more fun.

*He is a great gardener.  When people who don't know my father have sought descriptions of him, I've used many words--brilliant, funny, diversely talented, etc--but what I usually come back to is that, at heart, I believe my father is essentially a hobbit.  Ok, so he doesn't have the smallness of thought that Tolkien endowed the Hobbits with (quite the opposite), but I do believe that where his heart truly lies is in peace and quiet and good-tilled earth.  My parents' yard is one of my favorite places on earth, for many reasons, but my father's beautiful gardens top the list.

*He loves big ideas.  His intellect and obvious love for serious and interesting thought pushed me to think about things more (and simply to think about different things) than I otherwise would probably be inclined to naturally.  Much of my strong curiosity and desire to learn was founded, I think, in a desire to be able to keep up with him (not that I can anyway;) ), and he fostered that growth when I was young by telling me lots of things and, more importantly, by asking me questions, which pushed me to get there on my own.  My thought processes and what I think about, though still quite meager compared to many, are more sophisticated than they would've been without that early "brain training".

*Music.  I don't know that my father has any musical talent.  I don't know that he doesn't.  I've never heard him attempt anything musical (save for one afternoon when Israel was about 3 singing "Old Macdonald").  What I do know is that he always had music playing, that my earliest musical memories and some of the music I still love were introduced to me by him.  The two songs I remember most from my early childhood are "Yesterday" by the Beatles and "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" by Weird Al (though its altogether possible that that was Christa's tape, I don't know).  My mom sang to me and with me often and my father always had good music playing, and because of that today I have a wonderful love for music--I'm rarely NOT listening to it (though this can be a financial problem, what with the impulsive ease of downloading music from iTunes right on my phone, wherever I am).

There are other things, but there's a few highlights for you.  I should have a picture of him to post, since one of the things I love about him is that he constantly mocks English teachers while simultaneously looking so much the part of an English teacher (which he is).  But living so far from home, and consequently not often taking picture of my family, I'm afraid I don't have any very good recent ones to upload.  Most of ya'll have seen him, though.  You get the idea:)  So happy birthday to Dad!

And on a parting note, it is now officially less than 2 months til my due date--though probably not less than two months til I have a baby.  The due date is the 2nd of December, but we are planning on the birth day being the 12th (or 13th, if she's as stubborn as the last two).  I feel big and uncomfortable and moody, and yet not quite ready to be taking care of a newborn.  Things are going well and a week from Saturday will be my last day of work, which should make things a bit easier.  Hopefully it won't be long after that that we'll be back in Montana so that my big ol' family can meet little Clark baby number 3. :)