HBD to BJ the DJ

To the man who

Let me dance on his shoes

Taught me the proper way to dance to ‘Shout’

Would tuck me in so tightly I’d have to fight through giggle fits to kick the sheets free

Ate a wheaties / frosted mini-wheats cereal combo for breakfast through my entire childhood

Seeded my love for Michael Jordan and the number 23

Made me howl with laughter at the daddest of dad jokes

(examples: **Sees road sign that says ‘Watch Children’, turns and stares at me until I laugh**, or he would always refer to Cleveland as the “Land of Cle”)

Would never put names on his Christmas gifts to always keep us guessing

Was there to coach, teach, scorekeep, support, comfort, and celebrate

Taught me to slide on our slipn’ slide in the backyard

Bought a pitching a machine so I could practice in our backyard

Drove hours on end to spend days and weeks at a time around a team of teenage girls just to be there for my tournaments

Bought a blow-up Budweiser couch at yardsale and used it in the hotel pool

Always had a cold wash cloth to put on my neck during a long day of games in 90+ degree Tennessee heat

Truly never missed a game

Would always talk through a bad game or bad weekend if I needed it, or just sit quietly and buy me chicken nuggets with barbecue sauce if I didn’t want to talk

Introduced me to everything from Bob and Tom to Norah Jones

Cut the grass and then laid out in the driveway tanning

Never gave up on me even when I was a selfish brat who wouldn’t return his calls, ha

Drove 3 hours from Portland to Olympia and back again to see me

Took me to a vineyard for my 21st birthday

Took me to Mount St Helens, Mt. Hood, and Multnomah falls

Took me whale watching

Has loved me and my sisters endlessly

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you so much.