Happy, Happy Birthday Daddio

Dad,

It is such a bittersweet day today as we celebrate your 60th birthday. More than anything, I want to celebrate you today- to shout from the top of the rooftop how much I love you and how proud I am to be your daughter, especially on your birthday. Of course, another part of me is crippled with sadness as I lament the fact that you're not here to celebrate with us. We're going to Peking Gourmet tonight for your favorite peking duck - don't worry, CP will eat your extra hot peppers for you. Although, he may not end up with stains all over his shirt like you always did!

Inspired by CP, who gave me a journal full of memories that he has of you for Valentine's Day, I wrote to some of our family and friends and asked them to share memories of you, too.  Dad, everyone that wrote nailed it!! I couldn't believe how many stories had me laughing and saying " Yes! That's John!!".  So many people commented on your sense of humor - how strange, yet hilarious it was. How sometimes you were so impressed by your own zinger of a joke that you couldn't even get it all out before you were covering your mouth in laughter! How you played people to the point where they didn't know whether or not you were kidding, and it was the mystery that kept them in awe.  Others commented on your standout generosity and the fact that you made your friends and family feel so incredibly loved through your actions and words.

Your "girlfriend" Sloan, as you so fondly called her, misses you so much. Every time that she goes crazy licking our faces I think of you because she especially loved doing that to you. Julie posted some photos from our newlywed shoot with her, and in the ones of us with Sloan I couldn't help but remember how excited you were to take her for the day and bring her down to the waterfront to meet us. I think (errrr know, because you told us!) the main reason was because you knew that she would be a chick magnet:) 

When I open your car, I smell you so distinctly as your cigar smoke permeates the fabric.  As much as I wasn't fond of the cigar smoking, I'm comforted by the smell and knowing that you're there.  I also keep finding your PG cigar stickers all over the floor by the basement door outside, you sneaky man! Your buddies at the store miss you just as much as we do - you were so good to them.

We're getting ready to honor you at the McLean Youth Basketball March Madness next weekend, and we're so looking forward to giving a deserving student a scholarship in your name. That community loves you so very much and they're pulling out all the stops to honor you. I'll share more next week, but what stands out to me the most is that it has been ten (ten!!) years since I graduated from MYB, and you loved that league the day that you passed just as much as you did the day that you started coaching me in fourth grade.

I so hope that you're having an amazing birthday celebration in Heaven today, complete with your favorite manhattans with extra cherries. We'll certainly be sharing a big toast with you tonight as we wish you the happiest of happy birthdays.

xoxo Maria aka Marizzle aka MDiddy