Hello, hello!  Since Sunday (the 18th) is Father’s Day over here, I thought I’d tell y’all about my dad, Gary.  If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you’ve probably heard a lot of this before, so sorry in advance for the repetition.  Anyway, I’m not really good at the whole sappy emotional thing, so I know I don’t tell him how much I appreciate him enough.  So, I thought I’d give it a shot in writing (because I’m better at putting words on pages than I am at speaking).

Since Mom died in 2011, Dad has dropped everything to become my sole caregiver.  He learned to take care of me basically from scratch and my less than perfect instructions.  Yeah, he had an idea of what to do from watching Mom, but since she did everything before, he didn’t know all the ins and outs.  It’s one thing to see what has to be done with me, but another thing entirely to actually do it, to learn my limitations and how to work around them.  But he did it, and we’ve got a good routine going.

We compromised on a sleep schedule (I used to stay up until four or five in the morning and sleep all day while he was usually in bed by ten and up around six).  He always asks my opinion before doing any remodeling around the house.  I’m always in the loop about major purchases.  When it comes to things like life and the house and all that, he treats me like an adult and an equal because that’s the kind of person he is.

On top of all of that, he custom built all of my furniture to hide all of my medical equipment.  Who would guess there’s a ventilator hidden in that nightstand?  It started with a desk that comes out in a point, like the corner of a table, so I can get to it more easily than a regular desk.  You can see it here.  That’s nestled between two armoires.  The one on the left has a special drawer that used to house my Xbox at a reachable height back when I could still game.  Then came the bed, because I didn’t like the looks of my hospital bed.  And finally, the nightstand to hide the vent and for storage.

He’s also the best cook I know.  He makes a pastrami from scratch, smokes all kinds of things (including mac and cheese once or twice), and that’s just his bbq skills.  I’ve been spoiled by his Italian, since I’d rather he cook it than go out for it.  He also likes to experiment with new things.  Yeah, I’m definitely spoiled.

Okay, maybe I’m just bragging now, but these are just a few things I appreciate about him.  So, happy (almost) Father’s Day to my dad and all the other dads who might be reading this!  Feel free to share something about your own father figure here or on my social media pages.  I’d love to hear some of your stories.