I had an idea about writing a sweet post to honor him. It sounded so good in my head but I could never get it here. I can't put it down....the words in my head are GREAT but I simply can't get them into any cohesive unit to put down in a post. They won't behave.
Instead, I'll just say that I love him and that...
I miss our calls and our talking about the birds... and
I miss how he would shake his finger at me when I rolled my eyes as he waxed poetic about a recipe he had told me about 18,000 times before.....
I miss how he would snap a towel at me when I stole sauted mushrooms and then ask me why I wasn't stealing those same mushrooms 3 minutes later.
I miss how he twirled his finger when talking about a foreign country....oh MAN, I gave him SUCH a hard time about that and he would always say, "I don't know why I do that, I just do!"
I miss how he would preface a dirty joke with, "Now Valerie, you might want to cover your ears because THIS is a dirty joke!"
I miss how he would walk me through the yard and show me where the turtles I brought home came to eat each day and he would tell me how many were still there and how he "fired the damn yardman that had run one over!"
I miss how he would point to his beloved Shamrocks and ask me if I needed a starter knowing I had been growing Shamrocks for years and had begun long ago to give them to him.
I miss how he would make a martini with LOTS of extra olives in it to ensure that he got at least ONE because all the Russell girls stole his "damn olives!"
I miss how he would insist we drank wine with dinner instead of that "sissy crap" margarita stuff!
I miss how he would rub my arm when he first greeted me and would try to smooth the curls poking up from my scalp. I would always remind him that I got the curls from HIM.
I miss how humble he was, always saying, "I am a jack of all trades, master of none" when someone complimented his many skills.
I miss how at the end of each phone call, he would tell me to go look into the mirror and tell myself, "Your daddy loves you."
There are so many more things I miss.....
Happy Birthday Daddy. You are soooo greatly loved and missed by us all.
9 comments:
Val, this is such a beautiful post. A sweet, heartfelt post, that honors a man so dear to you.
Thinking of you today sweet friend.
Lots of love and hugs
Sweet memories for sure!
Beautiful memories. You truly honored your dad.
Well said little sister.
Yes, Russ was a special person. We miss him.
This IS a beautiful post! I'm thinking of you and sending you hugs.
Oh Val, I loved reading about your wonderful Dad. I remember when when he passed away and I wanted so badly to be able to give you a hug. The memories you shared with us are so sweet- and funny.:) What a wonderful man that raised an amazingly wonderful daughter. Love you. Lori
Well, chickiepoo, if you think that your thoughts were jumbled and didn't come across in this post, then you are sadly mistaken because I am currently in tears. God bless your daddy and hugs to you, Tammy
You made me cry, I could feel how much you miss your Dad. I should have read this post first. Because the post on the swap blog left me smiling. I might go back and read it again, by the way you caught me with this one too. I'm following.
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