“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”

– Jim Valvano

Dear Dad,

I wanted to start my note to you with that quote.  It is one of the biggest things I think of when I think of you.  You have always cheered me on no matter what,

Today I am thankful for my Dad and the special relationship I have always shared with him. I guess you could say I have always been a Daddy’s girl.  I am thankful that I inherited his sense of humor, his love for traditions, his love for giving everyone nicknames, his love for Jimmy Buffett, and most of all his belief that family comes first.  I am thankful that we have a relationship where we can tell each other like it is. 

So I just have to tell this story because it gets me teary-eyed every time. 


Last week when Brad and I were on the road to Cleveland to go for my autonomic nervous system testing, my Mom called to see how my day was going.  She and my Dad had been in Philly visiting Kristen, Jake, and the beautiful Cecilia Jane.  They were headed to BWI airport and we both still had a couple hours left to be in the car. At the moment she called I was struggling.  My back and head hurt, I was nervous, and I was experiencing the anxiety that a trip to Cleveland Clinic usually brings.  I was trying like heck to hold it together.  Sensing that I was near a meltdown, my Mom went into her pep talk, pick my spirits up, cheerleader mode.