Happy Father's Day!

It's been a great day spent with the father of my four great kids, and my father-in-law. We had a dinner at Debbie's house, with all of Pete's family. Debbie asked each of the in-laws to say something that they love about Byron. A little unusual, in that we are the in-laws (or out-laws as some like to say), but it turned out to be a nice idea. Since I'm the only woman, and admittedly, not the best public speaker, the task seemed a bit daunting. On the way to Debbie's house, I joked about doing an interpretive dance entitled "Ode to Byron". I may joke, but I'm lucky to have a great father-in-law. One of the things I like best about Byron is his joie de vivre, as the French say. He has a great enthusiasm and love of live that is both contagious and inspirational. Byron is always quick with a smile and a joke. Those are qualities he has passed down to Pete, my husband, some of the qualities that first attracted me to Pete.

Speaking of Pete . . . what can I say about Pete? He's an incredible husband and father, my best friend. He makes me feel like the coolest, sexiest woman in the world ( and I know that's not true), but still . . . I trust him, I laugh with him, we share many things in common and appreciate each others differences. I'm lucky to have ended up with such a great man. So Happy Father's Day!

Now you may wonder, why I haven't mentioned my own dad. I was just saving him for last. I think ending up with such a great guy was in part because I have such a great dad. With an example of a loving marriage in my own parents, the expectations in my own marriage were set high. My dad is the greatest! He is such an example of honesty and integrity. He also helped me to appreciate the gift of feeling emotions deeply. I have a hard time expressing myself, especially verbally, but I'm grateful to recognize and appreciate the simple things in life that make us happy. I learned that from my dad. Like, noticing the beauty of nature. Another thing I learned from my dad, was not to be a quitter, to endure. My natural weakness is to give up when things get hard, but dad wouldn't let me do that. When I was a freshman at BYU and really hating it, I remember calling my dad and saying that I was through. I wanted to transfer to the University of Utah and be done with the "weirdness" at BYU. My dad said, "You committed to BYU for a year, and you need to see it through for the year. At the end of the first year if you want to transfer, then fine. But see it through." At the time, I was a little mad. I had a crazy roommate (that's another story, probably not a good blog one) and culturally, BYU was very different than my upbringing. But my dad was right. By not quitting, I was able to look at the courses at the U of U, and really think through what I wanted from my education and what each university had to offer. It turned out that although most of my friends were at the U, the class courses were more science oriented than what I wanted. At BYU, I was able to take dance classes, theatre, art, the liberal arts courses that I loved and were more suited to my talents and interests. That is just one example of the many life experiences and which my dad has taught me to be a better person by evaluating my goals and personal convictions. I love my dad. He always let me know that I could be anything I put my mind and effort to. I'm grateful for the confidence he had in me and the hard work and sacrifices he made for me and my siblings so that we could be where we are today. I'm also grateful for the importance he placed on being a good person that people can count on, and on the importance of relationships with others. I'm a better person for the love and care that I receive from my husband, my father and my father-in-law. Happy Father's Day!