Day 3: My Parents

My parents met on a blind date. I find this to be so completely romantic and awesome. It's also really surprising, because I don't think I could picture my dad agreeing to a blind date. He's not that type.

He is however, a former Marine. I don't think I saw him smile more than a handful of times growing up. He's very gruff, and was always strict. He is retired from the State Highway Department of Indiana, which means that in the summer he patched pot holes, and in the winter he plowed snow. His job made him very paranoid, and when he taught me to drive, the first things I learned were how to safely maneuver around road workers. He was struck by cars twice, and had numerous near misses.

My dad taught me that you didn't need a lot of money to be happy. Family is everything. God is the only constant.

My mom is another story all together. I tell the story of losing her here, so I won't go into that again. I will tell you that I am almost completely out of my OWN memories of her. I simply just don't remember. I don't remember what her voice sounds like, can't remember her smell. What I do know, is what her laugh sounded like. I can't remotely describe it to you, but having this memory still, 18 years later, tells me one thing. Clearly, she is the reason I have the sense of humor I do. I find the funny in most things, because that is one gene my mom made sure to pass on. Her genes aren't my dominant ones, and compared to my cousins and other family, I look adopted.

She was amazing, would do anything for anyone, and even when she was sick she still made sure everyone else was taken care of.

My dad has never remarried. He's actually only gone on one date. In 18 years. And I'm pretty sure it's because no one will ever compare to my mom. And that speaks volumes of them both.

(Also, my mom kicked me out of Brownies when I was little. That too speaks volumes. Mostly about me though...)