Mi padre

I absolutely LOVE this man! He is mi padre, as I call him.

Tonight was such a wonderful tender mercy to get to spend an evening with the padre.

He helped me decide on a car I had been looking at, then we chatted for a little while over at Ken and Jen Johnson's house, and then just me and the padre went to dinner at our family's favorite panini shop off of 90th south and highland dr. in SLC

It got me to thinking how grateful I am that there is in fact a human being on this earth that I can FULLY relate to, feel COMPLETELY comfortable being 100% myself, and know that I am connected to this man FOREVER. That is an amazing blessing.

The padre has a wealth of knowledge and an IQ that not many match.

Today he was telling me that England/Spain made better land conquests than their European neighbors the French/Portuguese. Hence, why they have always been at war with each other.

I said, "Dad, how do you know all the stuff you know??"

Being a pilot for the last 20 years of his life he said, "Whit, I've spent alot of my life wandering around reading signs." Haha awesome.

The padre is a very observant man, he picks up little bits of knowledge through careful observations.

He is a Bear Grylls of sorts....survived the Washington wilderness for two weeks, backpacked Alaska, he builds fires, travels the vast expanse of US cities, operates tons of flying steel, has flown fighters in formation.

He contemplates the deep meanings in life, and as a result has a wealth of wisdom.

He is quiet and gentle....when the padre speaks, you LISTEN

When I tap into the padre's brain for a few minutes, I begin to see behind his words an immensity of experience and collection of memories.

What it means to be a daughter of this man is growing in sacredness.

I'm beginning to realize that my life, the way I react to things, many of the experiences I've had, closely parallel the padre's life.

I'm very grateful that he often times has amazing advice.

When I think about the padre I get a little emotional, my heart is connected to his, and sometimes we don't have to say much.

I understand my dad's goofy humor perfectly.....mostly because i possess the same sense of humor.

The padre is very close to the Lord.

Growing up, the padre would take us to get 'GOOBS' at the convenience store

Diet coke....definite integral part of his life

Music....another integral part....he is a jazz pianist, and hence his children are pianists as well

When he hears the right blend of musical harmony in a song, he can't help but play the 'air piano', bang his head, tap his feet

The padre has slight interest in African American culture, nicknaming his children Dushondas and Propeshias.

The padre has sharp written wit, a master of written words.

I love him.