Top 10 things I love about my dad

In honor of father’s day this weekend, here’s a top 10 list of things I love about my dad.  

10.  That he never calls me Monica.  It’s always Momo.  There’s nothing better than picking up the phone and hearing “hi Mo-mo!  Howdoyoudoin?” in his accent.

9.  That even though he HATES animals, he loves mine.  He lets Sonny sit next to him on the couch while he watches TV and takes care of the cats when I travel.  He doesn’t just go over and fill up their food bowls either.  While I was away on my honeymoon he went over every day twice a day.  Once in the morning to feed them and open the windows so they could get fresh air and once at night to close the windows and sit with them for a while so they wouldn’t be lonely. 

8.  That at 78 years old he still gets up and goes to work every day for my brother. 

7.  That when I was down and out he’d always tell me, “No worry Momo.  Betta days are comin.”  He was right.

6.  That the first thing he asks me when he sees me is, “You eat?”  And according to him, I’m waaaaay too skinny.

5.   That every time he comes over to visit he says, “I lova this little house.”  He means it too.  We live in a tiny ranch built circa 1955 that would literally fit in the kitchen of my sister’s new house.  But the way my dad describes it, you’d think it’s the Taj Mahal. 

4.  That he has a bit of an obsessive streak with weird things.  For example, he has been obsessively searching for the perfect pair of boots since 1983.  (Black leather, rounded toe, rubber sole) He spent two years looking for a replacement for his favorite London Fog hat that they no longer make.  He learned to use a computer so he could look on Craigs List for a “nice used Jeep.”  He found the hat and bought a Jeep but is still searching for those boots.

3.  That when he’s going to tell you what to do, he always starts with, “I no try to tell you what to do, but if it was for me…” and then he lets you have it. 

2.  That he watches television at the kitchen table with those TV Ears things so as not to disturb my mother while she watches Lifetime on the couch.

And, the #1 most favorite thing I love about my dad is:

1.  That he’ll tell anyone who’ll listen how smart and beautiful I am.  And, he always prefaces it with “No because she’sa my daughter but…”  I’m pretty sure he doesn’t say that about my sisters.  ; )

Happy Fathers Day Papa!

How about you?  What’s on your top 10 list?