Today and every day, I love my dad!

I LOVE my dad! There is truly no one else in the world like him. I'm not sure how he became the respected and respectable man of integrity he is today except to believe that God had a unique and unmistakable hold on my father's life, personality and character. When I stop to think about it, I am repeatedly amazed and humbled that I am lucky enough to be his daughter. Dr. Howard V. Sanden is arguably a great man, and the best dad in the world, and I'm fortunate enough that he's mine. :)

What makes my dad the best? Well he knows about everything and yet is the first to admit, "There's always someone who knows more about something than I do." My dad has taught me lessons in about every subject imaginable over the past 25 years. These include but are not limited to the following:

• how to calculate the miles/hour traveled in a car
• the importance of exercise and healthy eating habits
• how to shovel snow
• how to handle a wheel-barrow
• how to drive a boat
• how to drive a car
• how to shake someone's hand
• to always greet people when you walk into a room (especially in the morning)
• how to treat a soft tissue injury - RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)
• that "when the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'"
• how to speak in public
• how to write a thank you note
• the names and uses of a few tools
• how to build and stoke a fire
• how to ski
• how to water ski
• when you pack your own meal you can eat when you're hungry, save money and eat healthier than you would otherwise
  
• how to document conversations with companies (hotels, insurance, doctors, investors, etc) with names, dates, times and quotes
  
• how to think ahead
• to listen to what other people tell me... then make my own decision
• that if I don't ask, I don't get
• that the worst someone (including he) can say is "No"
• the game of college football
• how to throw a ball
• how to cook bratwursts
• how to ride a bike
• how to approach new obstacles
• that the best gifts are heart-felt and often inexpensive
• how to manage a bank account
• how to hunt for worms, bait a hook and catch a fish

This list could continue until all the cyberspace of blogger is filled, but I think I'll stop with that list for the moment.

One of the things I love best about my dad is his logical thinking. No matter how rational my own thinking or how hysterical my emotions, my dad's logic and sensibility remains. After 18 years of living with him and 25 years of learning from him, I often imitate his thoughtful, step-by-step, planned and purposeful manner of thinking. Occasionally, however, my emotions take over and I lose Daddy's wise example. In these times, his loving and logical words are only a phone call away to refocus my mind back on the rational way I know how to think.

In my whole life, I don't think I've ever once seen my dad speechless or at a loss for how to respond to anyone in any situation. The essence of a gentleman and the poster of integrity, my father epitomizes what it means to be an honorable man.

While I love, cherish and respect him daily, today, Father's Day, seems especially appropriate to publicly declare that I love my daddy -- the best daddy in the world, and he's mine!