I knew kids who had no curfews and did whatever they wanted, even on a school night, and sometimes I was jealous of them. I was too young to realize that their parents didn't care enough about them. I'm so thankful now that mine did. The Lord only knows what I might have turned out like if my parents didn't give me rules and didn't lay down the law every now and then. Some of those kids who did what they pleased didn't turn out so well, although a few did because they refused to have the kind of life they had as a child.
I don't ever remember my daddy having a birthday cake. My mom tried to make birthdays special at our house. Strawberries would begin to appear in the stores around my daddy's birthday and he loved strawberry pie. Instead of cake, Mom always made strawberry pie for Daddy's birthday.
I remember one time, my grandma and great grandma, Daddy's mother and grandmother came up from Licking County, where they lived, to celebrate Daddy's birthday with us. Grandma Lou, Daddy's grandma, loved strawberry pie, too. Mom, who was usually a stickler for having balanced meals, made several strawberry pies that year and Daddy's birthday supper was all the strawberry pie you could eat, nothing else except some whipped cream to go on top. And eat we did. My mom's a great cook and we stuffed ourselves full of strawberry pie until we couldn't eat anymore.
I knew, even then, that my daddy was the best. I know that there's a big birthday party going on in Heaven today. I think that all of my family who's there are throwing him one. He's surrounded with those who loved him just as those of us still on this Earth did. Happy birthday, Daddy.
If you enjoyed this post, see Sentimental Sunday-Remembering Dad posted on 2/02/2013. If you enjoyed this post or knew my dad, please leave a comment or memory of him to honor what would have been his special day.