Happy Birthday Dad!!

Yep, today is my dad's birthday! Which means, in honor of this day, none of us can eat any cheese -- because as far as dad is concerned, cheese is poison. It goes against the laws of nature, and must not be consumed. So I declare today to be No Cheese Day!! I won't say how old dad is today... but seeing as I'm, at most, 25 or so, I'd have to say dad is no more than 50-something, right??

Actually, I'd say that my dad is responsible for many of the reasons I DON'T feel or (hopefully) look as old as I (supposedly) am (yeah, I'm totally in denial, okay??). Some of the things I've learned from dad:

1. Drink plenty of coffee. Dad was drinking coffee long before all those studies were conducted that proved its many benefits. He was obviously ahead of his time...

2. Walk as much as possible -- five miles a day is a good place to start. Again, dad was touting the benefits of walking long before the popularity of pedometers really took off. And when pedometers started becoming popular, the first thing all the "experts" said was "aim for 10,000 steps a day." Guess what 10,000 steps a day works out to? Yep, about five miles...

3. Read a lot, and never stop trying to learn new things. It's a well-known fact that using your brain helps to keep it working properly... so the more you read and learn, the better off you'll be in the long run...

4. Travel... and don't be afraid of new experiences. I'm fairly certain that I got my love of travel and curiosity about the world from my dad's side of the family -- they're an inquisitive, well-traveled bunch. And my dad has taught me that it can be quite rewarding to step outside of your comfort zone now and then and see what the world has to offer. In fact, dad even went so far as to sample a slice of the dreaded, poisonous CHEESE when we were on the Italian island of Sardinia several years ago. The amazing part is -- he actually LIKED it. Granted, that was mostly because it was completely devoid of flavor... but the point is, he TRIED it. 

5. Don't sweat the small stuff -- and it really IS mostly small stuff. My dad is probably the most patient person I know -- definitely not a "type A" personality. And the funny thing is, when you think about all the things that people get worked up about over the course of a normal week, it really IS mostly silly, innocuous stuff. Traffic, long lines at the bank, leaky faucets, surprise visits from Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. None of it is worth getting upset about... and really, what good does getting upset DO, anyway?? All you can do is take it in stride and get yourself another cappuccino...

So in honor of my dad, I'm off to drink some coffee and dream about my next vacation abroad. Happy birthday, Dad!!!! :)