Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! We stayed up way too late last night finishing season 2 of Orange is the New Black and it was so worth it. Has anyone else finished it? I’m happy to say season 2 did not disappoint. It definitely wasn’t our intention to watch the complete season in less than a week, but we just couldn’t help it. The good news is that we don’t need to find time this weekend for binge watching, which is good because it’s looking like it’ll be a busy one.

I’m spending tomorrow with my friend, Sarah for some much-needed girl time while Jonathan works, then tomorrow night we’re attending my 10 year high school reunion. It’ll be fun, although I have felt somewhat indifferent toward the whole event for some reason. I guess with Facebook the whole mystery of what everyone is up to since high school is a thing of the past, not to mention that my best friend isn’t attending. I am looking forward to it, though! It’ll be fun to catch up with everyone and have a fun night out with Jonathan.  

Sunday I’ll be heading to my parents’ house to celebrate Father’s Day. On that note, today’s Friday Favorites are all about this man I’m lucky enough to call my dad.

Photo by Lora Rodgers Photography

one. His dance moves. I told the story of how my dad just recently debuted his dance skills and just this story alone is one of my favorite memories with him. Read it for yourself, but the short version is that his approach to dancing is on point.

two. His strong conviction. For my sweet father, no matter what the topic, there is no gray area. He either loves it or hates it and he doesn’t sugarcoat it when it’s the latter. President Obama? Don’t get him started, seriously. The Boston Red Sox? He doesn’t miss watching a game. Irish Car Bombs? Loves them.

I have strong opinions for the most part, but I can be very indecisive and all too often, I see both sides too clearly to take a strong stance on something either way. I love that my dad has such strong beliefs and that he stands by them.

three. He freaking loves his family. I know, this isn’t out of the ordinary for dads as a group, but I admire how much my dad genuinely enjoys being with his family. Ask him and he will tell you his favorite vacations have been the ones where we are all together. We all have such a good time and you can truly see the joy he feels when we are together. Growing up, he put our family first and he made sure we all learned to do the same. It’s why my siblings are my very best friends and they always will be, because we all learned to stick together and be there for each other.

four. Him and my mother raised 5 children, 4 girls and one boy. I don’t know how he survived my sisters and I going through high school one after another. We certainly didn’t make it easy on him and he was tough on us at times, but I know my siblings would all agree that he has always been our biggest supporter and even when he was hard on us, we always knew he had our best interest in mind.

five. He speaks up. My dad isn’t afraid to give you his honest opinion. He’s not afraid of speaking up when he doesn’t agree. He’s always reminded me to do the same without being afraid of what people might think of me. There are so many times I think of him when I don’t know how to handle a situation and I know he would tell me to speak my mind. There have been so many times when I could’ve kept my opinion to myself but instead, decided to speak my mind and in those times, the situation has always worked out for the best.

There you have it; just a few of my favorite things. Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Linking up with Amanda for Friday Favorites.