He was really just a big kid...

...at heart.  Daddy loved to make me laugh and he would go to extreme measures to get to me.


On a regular basis I would go to slide my feet into my shoes and feel a lump by my toes.  I never knew what it would be...a marble, a Barbie shoe, a screw, a AAA battery, even a wadded up paper towel.  Though I never knew for sure what I would find, I always knew who put it there...


...daddy.




I loved hearing him laugh.  The feeling was mutual.  As I got older it wasn't as funny, but I pretended it was hilarious.  And then he would pretend he didn't know I was pretending and then we would both laugh even harder.


I would act like it was the funniest joke ever when I found another object in one of my shoes, laughing, slapping my knee and giving him a hug....


...and then he would laugh and I would feel my heart jump in my chest knowing how much he loved me.


Ask anyone who knew him and they will tell you the same thing, my dad loved to make people laugh.  He had a way about him.  Whether it was the checker at the grocery store or his doctor's receptionist, he would spread sunshine throughout the day.


Remember how I mentioned I have wondered if my dad is watching over me and my mom.  Well, I received the answer to that question.




I was in a hurry the other morning to get to work, but when I slid my foot in to my brown loafers, time stopped.  I laughed and cried all at the same time.  It was rings this time, costume jewelry from my mother's jewelry box.  One in each shoe


For just a moment I thought if I turned around he would be standing there with a big Cheshire cat grin.  Then I thought, no, I don't have to see him...I just know he's here.