I called my dad this morning to wish him the happiest birthday and, like always, he shifted the attention away from himself to me.

 “How are you doing, what are your big plans for the week, when can I see you?”

My dad is the man. He cooks the meanest lasagna, has an empathetic + compassionate heart of gold, sings James Taylor like a boss, knows how do more than one thousand things (like farming, driving a back-ho, fixing cars, motivating people to be their best selves, rocking it at grad school…)

AND…he knows how to FISH…for fish + for opportunity. 

My dad is not afraid of challenges. He meets them head on + surpasses them. When I talk about scrappy perseverance, I imagine my dad. Determined, resilient, hardworking DOER. He makes things happen. 

I love you so much dad….with ALL of my heart. There are so many amazing opportunities (+ fish) ahead of you + me.

Let’s go fishing soon. We can go to the ocean or the river or the dam. Grab the canoe, kayak, or water boots. We can bring 2 or 3 or 10 of your tackle boxes. I’ll pack a snack and you pack the beer! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD. I LOVE YOU.