Tonight is a little bittersweet.

Four years ago, I was standing in a hospital waiting room while my dad was in the ICU.  He had suffered from a massive heart attack days earlier and had been in the hospital, unconscious since.

The ball dropped, the confetti flew, and another year rolled on…

But there we were…just waiting.

Hours later, my dad took his final breath and left this world on New Years morning.

While it’s suppose to be a night of new beginnings and saying ‘goodbye’ to 2013 and ‘hello there, 2014!’… tonight…I’m going to sit back, sip on a whiskey sour {made just the way Dad liked them}, and celebrate a man who I had the honor of being his daughter.

So tonight I celebrate…

I celebrate a man who bumped his head on his first Christmas and had two black eyes to prove it. {Until now, this picture was the only one I had of him as a baby.}

I celebrate the oldest of four boys.  I also celebrate his mother. A woman who could raise four amazing individuals while keeping her composure and class deserves a round of applause.

I celebrate a man who would never smile for pictures…ever. (And I also celebrate his father who captured it all on film so that I could enjoy years later.)

Tonight, I celebrate a man who while working in the men’s department at J.C. Penny’s wrote a letter to President Reagan explaining that if he ever needed a suit, he would be honored to help him find the perfect one.  (President Reagan’s response and signed letter explaining how he didn’t need any suits at that time is tucked away in a file cabinet at my mom’s house now…)   

I celebrate a man who waited patiently for his sweetheart to get off working as a waitress on busy Friday and Saturday nights.  He would sit in a booth and write her love letters while she worked.

I celebrate a man whose hands were rough. Hands that had been put to work. Hands that showed some “wear and tear”, but hands that were still gentle enough to hold and to braid my hair.

I celebrate a man who let Jesus into his heart and was baptized. I also celebrate that same man who prayed with me the night I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

I celebrate a man who always cooked breakfast for his family every Saturday morning.  (He knew exactly how I wanted my eggs cooked…and that is a pretty daunting task.)

I celebrate a man whose gap in his front teeth was nothing he was proud of…but something that made him so unique.  

I celebrate a man who broke his ankle after falling off the roof.  He couldn’t do anything for six weeks, and boy, was he a wreck.

I celebrate the sound he’d make when he first came home from work.

I celebrate early morning up-before-the-sun pier fishing trips while on vacation.

I celebrate buying Yohoo’s and KitKat bars as our weekend afternoon routine.

I celebrate a first base coach, a tennis instructor, a piano teacher, and a math tutor all in one.  

I celebrate a man who still wrote “Love You Circles” in every card he ever gave to his sweetheart, even after 25 years.

I celebrate a man who taught me how to ‘wheel and deal’ when it comes to buying a car. {and I celebrate the $3,500 his lessons have saved me!}

I celebrate a man who didn’t care what it was…if it had gravy on it, it was out of this world good. 

I celebrate a man who left sentimental messages in between the drywall of every renovation he had done in our house.  If only those walls could talk…

I celebrate every nail, every board, every tool, every scrape, every cut, every curse word said, every pencil mark, and every funny tongue movement that went along with those renovations.

I celebrate a man who taught me most about work ethic. Who taught me to work hard for everything, to not settle, and to be the best version of myself at all times. 

I celebrate a man who put others first and listened to what anyone had to say. 

I celebrate a family man who would do anything for his girls.

I celebrate that dance with my daddy at my sisters wedding.  Not knowing that was the last dance I’d ever have with him…he told me that he couldn’t wait to dance with me at mine.  

I celebrate you Dad. Not just tonight, but everyday. My sweet, sweet Daddy.  You are the one I celebrate.  Miss you everyday.

Happy New Year Everyone.

God Bless.

{Celebrate A Man blog post idea credit: SassyFras Studios}