Another year, another missed birthday

Today is my dad's birthday. It marks the 8th year I haven't been able to celebrate with him on his birthday. He loved celebrating anything and he especially loved birthdays. One of the things I loved about my mom and dads marriage was they ALWAYS, without exception took their birthdays off work and usually went away for the weekend to a spa or somewhere romantic and relaxing. My dad was a total romantic. It was cute.

As hard as it is - and it's weird to say that it actually gets harder as the years go by, not easier - it's important to me to remember him externally in some way every birthday and every holiday. I want my babies to know him as best they can without ever getting to meet him. Of course they will meet him one day in Heaven so I guess I'm just doing a long introduction to their first meeting :-)

One way in which we might be able to commemorate him is through naming a building after him at CAL. He was an alum, and worked there for 20 years-my entire life! CAL and I will always have a very special bond - it will always represent my dad to me. I grew up going to nearly every single basketball (mens and women's) and football game...we even went to their rally's! I went to summer school there, and even transfered there after 2 years at UCSC to be closer to my dad & mom. He loved that school so much, and I was so proud that I could let him be a father to a student there :-) Of course it didn't last long because I got home sick for SC and came back pretty quickly! My dad actually died there too...playing basketball at lunch at the school gym where he played every week. He left such a legacy there - as you can see by the news bit in the Berkeleyan and the fact that they held a memorial for him on campus at which they had to shuttle hundreds of students and faculty to. The folks at CAL loved dad, and ever since he died they have been talking about naming a building after him. It would mean so much to my family should it ever happen. I could only imagine how blown away he would be if he were here and they named a building after him...he would be so moved. So happy birthday dad! Here's to naming a building after you! Oh, and go BEARS! :-)