father's day 2008: to *my* dad

If you have been around me long enough, you will know that (1) I'm a twin and (2) my parents did not know that they were having twins until my mom was in labor. The story goes that in those days they X-rayed moms in labor since ultrasounds were a cutting edge technology. My poor mom was on the X-ray table for a long, long time...so she asked the technician what was going on. The technician told her that she needed to talk to the doctor first. Panicked, my mom asked if everthing was okay.

"Oh, yes," said the nurse. "It's a good thing."
My mom, who had been fielding questions about how many babies she had in her ginormous belly for 9 months, then asked, "It's twins, isn't it?"
"Yes," the nurse replied. "It's twins."

Just as my dad walked into the room.

My mom said that you could actually see the color drain from my dad's face when he heard the news. But, despite his shock, he didn't skip a bit.

"That's okay," he told my mom. "We have enough love for two."

And they did. I've said over and over what great parents I have. I've mentioned how he's always supported us in sports in other ventures, though he wasn't the greatest hair dresser ever.

But I think the biggest gift he has passed along to me is my sense of humor. I remember sitting with my dad in the living room wathcing a marathon of "The Naked Gun." Most of our conversations are sprinkled with references to Airplane! or some other ridiculously stupid movie we love. And, since a conversation with my dad means that there is laughter involved...how could you not want to be around him?

So, Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!