My Dad: The Man--The Legend

We celebrated my dad's 70th birthday yesterday up at my parent's house.
Brian cooked all the food and my mom and I did all the "extras".

We all wrote toasts to my dad with the theme of Stan:

 "The Man--The Legend."

Today, my dad said that yesterday was the best day of his life.

I wanted to share my toast to my dad in this space and continue to
celebrate the amazing person he is.

When daughters refer to how great their dads are, they have no idea what kind of competition they have with who my dad is.

My dad is the sort of person that would sacrifice all that he has to help another person. He is the type of person that gives others hope that they can accomplish anything they want. He is the type of person that people want to be around and they are glad they were around him—even for 5 minutes.
The people he interacts with walk away changed— for the better.

My dad has been known to tell legendary stories about life, love and football.

From the Flyin’ '37 rolling into ditches, fist fights with those trying to date my mom and broken noses of "Nebraska" football players, his stories never cease to be entertaining.  I think, though, that the best thing about his stories is that the core of them shows the resilience of the human spirit.  His stories are ones that people remember because they show heart. They show courage. They show that one can accomplish anything they want.



My dad has endured a lot of heartache throughout his life but he has managed not to allow these things to fester for long. He finds ways to crawl out of spaces that seem impossible to get out of. He finds ways to “dig another well” because he knows that’s all one can do. He then inspires others to do the same.

 

My dad’s generosity is legendary.

His love for those who don’t seem ‘lovable’ is legendary.

His kindness to strangers is legendary.

His love for his family {especially his favorite middle child} is legendary.

His ability to make you feel special is legendary.

His heroic spirit is legendary.

My dad is a man that people strive be like.

His legendary life is one that produces hope that is rare and desirable.

 

Cheers to my dad, truly the best dad in the whole world.

I love you.