Happy Father's Day (Yes, It's Late)

Hello blog world!  I am finally out of the woods after a stellar summer (more to come on that at a later date) and am excited to be back in the blogosphere.  As much as I want to tell you all how much fun I had at camp this summer, I missed a very important day on here and need to rewind back Father's Day to give a little airtime to a living legend and my wonderful father!

Meeting Dan Spofford is an experience that few people would ever forget.  His constant smile, enthusiasm, and occasional toilet humor attract people to him.  Whether I am in church, visiting him at work, or meet someone in passing who knows Dad, the response to me telling them that I am his son is always the same.  The person's face lights up with a smile and they say "Oh you're Dan's son!"  I haven't met too many people in my life that are able to leave that sort of impact on people.  One day I went to visit dad at the hospital he works at and wasn't quite sure where his office was, because he had just relocated.  I went to the front desk and asked where I might find him.  The woman at the front desk didn't know him by name, but once I told him that he is in charge of patient care satisfaction, it came back to her and she said "Ohh yeahh, he's the one that's always smiling, he must be great to have as a dad!!"  It's true, it really is.

In my post about my Mom, I talked a lot about how she lives with a quiet calm demeanor.  Dad does not.  Although he shares many traits with my mother, (i.e., thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, zeal for family, love of God, many others...) quietness is not one of them.  When the boys come home from being away, Dad is always there to greet us in excitement (often jumping up and down calling us one of many of our nicknames, mine is Noodie).  He whoops and hollers, as we squirm through his excitement.  While we pretend to hate this ritual, it is one that deep down inside we all know we look forward to as we enter the house.

One thing that I have definitely inherited from my Dad is the love of singing (and doing it constantly).  When we are home and wake up on the weekends or holidays there are two things that we can bet on. 1) There will be a delicious breakfast prepared.  2) Dad will be singing as he greets us in the morning.  He is certainly a morning person and there have been more than a few mornings that his energy has been met with chagrin from one or more of us boys.  After a little while though, the energy he shares with us (the coffee helps too) finally kicks in, and we have a great day.

Dad is a man of many emotions and wears all of them on his sleeves.  We always know if Dad is happy, sad, exhausted, or upset, because he (or his behaviors) will tell us.  On occasion Dad has been known to lack a filter and often says exactly what's on his mind.  This is a trait that most of us boys share within the house and with those closest to us, but hide it well otherwise.  The first time I ever brought Amy home to meet my parents, my Dad immediately began to dance with our dog Sam and started sing "once in love with Amy," I almost died.  Fortunately, he didn't scare her away, and she has stayed around for a while.

Due to Dad's outspoken nature, there is never any questions about where his priorities in life lay.  Family is definitely within the top two for him.  He constantly reminds us boys how much he loves us and provides praise, advice, and support at times when we need it.  Sometimes, when it is necessary, he gives us the hard truths, and tells us the things we don't want to hear when we need it the most.  There is no doubt that he puts our needs before his own, and always has.  For years, he and Mom provided an amazing taxi service to us as they carted us all around the state to play soccer, nearly every single weekend.  I am sure there are things that they would have rather done, but they dropped their plans in order for us to be successful doing the things that we loved.  On occasion, Mom and Dad planned day trips and gracefully took things in stride, as we complained incessantly about having to wake up so early.  Instead of turning the car around, Dad spent the car rides singing and pointing out how beautiful the scenery was around us.  Looking back, I am grateful to have had these opportunities and I often find myself admiring views and scenery and think of my younger years.  I often find myself striving to live my life with the same selflessness that my parents modeled for me!

I still share recliners with Dad! (It's much less comfortable)

 If I had to pick the biggest similarity between me and my dad, I would definitely say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with our sense of humors.  When I go home and see Dad, it does not take long before we can get each other laughing.  Part of Dad's sense of humor that I value most is his ability to laugh at himself (something that I think not enough people are able to do).  When he makes a mistake or misspeaks, he does not beat himself up over it.  Instead, he laughs it off.  When he does, he often causes others around him to laugh too.  I am so happy that I have inherited this quality (as well as the propensity for toilet humor). 
Something that I admire about my Dad that I would love to be better at is the ability to provide compliments and let people know how he is feeling.  Dad provides a never ending chain of compliments to me and constantly builds me up, even during hard times.  I think that I can attribute my self confidence to his praise of me when I was younger.  I often notice when people do great things, but I hold it inside rather than praising them for what they've done, and I want to get better at saying "Great Job!"
Anyways, if you all can't tell, my Dad is awesome, in fact, I think he's the best Dad in the World!  I know that many people feel strongly about their own and that's okay (but I know who the real best is...)  He is kind, compassionate, God-fearing, silly, and all-around wonderful!  Sorry this is late, but thanks for being an excellent Dad!!

(He's still a world famous napper)

Until Next Time!!