My Dad

Jack Webster Broome Jr. .. or wait, don't you become The Second when the Senior dies? I'm not sure.. Either way, in our house he goes by Grandpa Jack most of the time now that Ive made him a Grandpa.
Okay maybe Nick made him a Grandpa first but I've always heard that its different when your daughter becomes a mother as apposed to your son becoming a father.. Either way it goes, its still weird that my Dad is a grandfather..
I have so many things in my life that make up who i am that i can thank my Dad for, so many i don't even know where to start.
I've always been a Daddies girl and i guess i can thank my Mom for that. When i was little my Dad worked off shore so when he would come home it was kind of a big deal. We would have to get the house clean and buy groceries and get everything perfect for Daddy to come home. I remember going to the terminal to wait for his plane to get in, sitting in the orange vinyl chairs, eating m&m's out of the quarter machine and getting a canned soda out of the old school coke machine. Most of the fleeting memories i have of early childhood involve my Father. I remember that he could sit me on one shoulder and my little sister (Maggie) on the other shoulder and walk around with us, i felt 10 feet tall and i KNEW that my Dad must have been the strongest man in the world because he could carry us both. My Dad knew everything when i was kid (not in the sarcastic way that most young people think of their parents but in the smart way), he still is one of the smartest people I've ever met. He had read every book i had ever heard of and been to every place i could think of. Those thoughts on my Father have influenced my life greatly. My Dad loves to read and has taught me to love reading and enjoy learning, he has taught me that its important to see things, to travel. These are things that I'm trying to give to my children.
My Dad showed me how to shoot a gun, how to change a tire, how important handwriting is. He preached to me the importance of first impressions and punctuality.. Most importantly he taught me that if i don't like something, change it. There is not a man, woman or child on this Earth that can MAKE me do anything, I have to want to do things myself..
The morning i found out i was pregnant with Presley was not exactly the best day of my life (that's for another blog). First i told James, it didn't exactly go well (also another blog) then i told my Mom and didn't get the response that i needed.. So i went to work almost in a blind panic because i knew that my Dad was going to come by at some point to stop in and see me, i knew i had to tell him.. If you've ever met my Dad you know hes not the kind of man you want to tell that his twenty year old unmarried daughter is pregnant.. But i did and amazingly enough, it was one of the best moments of my entire life. He put his arm around me and said "are you happy?" I said yes.. I think i am, not real sure how I'm going to do this but theres no point in being unhappy.. He looked at me and said "Well, if your happy, then I'm happy. Congratulations".. That was the very first congratulations i got on my pregnancy that eventually turned into the flaxen haired green eyed boy coloring at the dining table right now..

My Dad has given me alot of things over the years. Some great and some not so great but he had a hand in molding me into the opinionated, socially awkward, mildly stern woman i am today and i like who i am..

Thank you Dad, for everything. I love you..