this is us at some point in the 1980s. i have always loved swimming - a result of being in the water a fair amount when i was younger, and in this photo i'm totally like, "let me go, dad - i can do this on my own!" except that becky was the more adventurous one in the water when we were littler and i probably really did want him near me. just in case something scary happened. i was kind of a weenie. one thing my parents did pretty well, in retrospect, was walk that line between pushing me to try new things but not throwing me when i wasn't ready. example: i got my driver's license after my freshman year of college, at 18. dad: thank you for not making me learn to drive a manual transmission car before i was ready. i turned out okay, i think.
my dad is awesome because he can fix almost anything that needs fixing. he told some bad ass bedtime stories when becky and i were little. he makes a mean omelet. he instilled in me a love of history that i didn't realize at the time, but was absolutely a factor in my major in college and my career. he rarely tells me what to do (even when i want him to, such as when i have no clue what to do when filing my taxes), but rather helps educate me on all the options. as a teacher i see parents who push their kids unabashedly in the direction that they, as the parents, think is best. my parents never did that - they always let me make my own decisions. (except for that time when i was like 9 and dad came home and asked me if i wanted to play rec league soccer again this season. i said i guessed so. he said, "good, because i already signed you up." no, dad, i will never forget that, and yes, of course it was the right move.) thank you for coming to understand what would make me really upset as a child: that i am really pretttttty sensitive and i need people to be gentle with me sometimes. thank you for being financially generous, for allowing me to go to duke (again: i have seen parents with a great deal more money than we had who "can't afford" to let their kids go to the school of their choice, yet they have vacation homes and fancy cars).
i love you, dad. happy birthday!
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