In honor of my Papa's birthday in 10 days, I am writing this post for him. Like I said, this was originally a post for my Friday Favorites link up, so sticking with the favorites theme here (even though it's Tuesday), my Papa is my favorite fighter, my number one man, IU's biggest basketball fan, and he is the one who taught me the most about loving the Lord and dedicating my life to the greatest purpose of all: Loving like he does. He is my biggest role model, and my rock. My memories with him are some of my greatest memories to date, and these are our favorite things to do together!
1. Getting ice cream from Frazier's
It may not look like much, but this is one of the greatest ice cream places in the WORLD! I think he is the one who makes it so special though. He really knew the key to my heart even at a young age, and this place was it. Every chance we got, we went to Frazier's when I was growing up, and it's probably the reason for my sugar addiction to this day.
2. Watching our sports together
We may not have the same taste in teams, but my Papa was the one who taught me how to be a dedicated fan no matter what. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, my Papa has remained loyal to his Indiana Hoosiers. He wasn't thrilled about my transfer to the dark side (Purdue University), but he promised that he would love me anyway as long as I never made him wear anything to support Purdue sports. When he gets on his sports rolls, I know that's when he is the happiest, and they are some of my favorite conversations to have with him.
3. Our love of singing
You may not know it, but this big guy has the best voice in all of Indiana. Some of my favorite memories of him are singing the Cubbies baseball song and "Back Home Again in Indiana" all the time. We were probably way too entertained by those two songs for our own good.
4. Playing Cards and Eating Cake
We don't do this much anymore (the playing cards part, anyway), but as a family, my Papa would alway orchestrate a huge game of 10 Down while we ate dessert. It's played with Rook cards, and this was the only game we could really get him fired up about. When I was little, and let's face it, even now, I always want to be on his team even if it isn't a team game because he is simply the best and I just can't be against him. We always have our game faces on and our plates ready to take on each challenge as a team. Together, we are unbeatable no matter what we are accomplishing. He's my number one fan, and I am his. I could not have been blessed with a better partner in crime.
