Happy Birthday FaFa :)

Once upon a time,
there was a man. This man stood eight feet tall, had hands of steel, and a look that could spoil milk. He had the strength of twenty men, a sense of immortality, and all the confidence to go with it. Found the love of his life at the age of five, and married her thirteen years later.
All the memories flood my mind as I sit here. All the fishing trips, the inside jokes, the soccer/t-ball teams, the lessons learned and "getting older" lectures all three of us have come so accustumed to. My parents said they wanted to be "young" parents, so they could still do things with their kids as they got older. Boy have we made some memories.
He's been my dad for almost twenty years now, and I still believe to this day, that I have the greatest dad in the world. We may not have had it all, but it sure felt like it. Nothing is stronger than the love of family.
When my parents dropped me off for the first day of college, he reached down and hugged me, and whispered that he was proud of me. I couldn't even watch them drive away, due to the tears that were rising at the corner of my eyes.
To me, he is still eight feet tall, and as strong as any other. He seems pretty immortal to me, just with a little less hair.

Today, he turns forty. Still a young'n with plenty of memories left to make. The other day he mentioned something to me about grandkids. I just gave him an impression of his "are you stupid" face. He knows the one. He's just our big teddy bear. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Dad:
A son's greatest hero.
A daughter's first love.
Happy Birthday FaFa. I love you :)

His Eyes Told That He Had No Soul..

Monday afternoon. Laughter cascading from my lips as I converse with my co-worker. I catch a glimpse of him as he walks through the door, I recognize him. He has come through the store before. We exchange smiles as he comes to pay. He is a timid, little thing. A walk that lacks confidence. Eye contact. My stomach drops, I don't like him. Instantly.
I force a smile as he pays and tell him to have a good day. He doesn't say a word.
Later that night I was stocking in a smaller area of the store, when I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, to see him staring at me from afar.
Are you kidding me?
I feel him approach, as he grabs an item from above my head.
"Sorry I'll just get out of your way"
"Oh no your fine". He laughs. His voice was smooth and inviting. Maybe I had the wrong impression. Eye contact. Nope, I was right. I continue stocking. I could feel his stare on the back of my neck. I felt my muscles twitching with anticipation.
For what?
"Hey can I walk you home tonight?" So much for a lack of confidence.
Say No.
"No sorry. I'm kind of in a serious relationship and don't live on campus." I lied.
I looked at a friend of mine who had just walked through the door.
In an instant, his hand was wrapped around my wrist, in a grip that I surely did not expect.
"Let. Go." Anger dripping from my words.
He smiles. "Don't lie to me"
"Let Go."
He laughs. Still a firm grip on my wrist.
"Fine."
I then proceed to thrust my knee into his groin, and my elbow into the side of his head.
He dropped like a rock. My friend runs over to check on him and make sure I didn't do any major damage. Mainly to get a good look at the guys face. I stepped over him, awesome Superhero, action music playing in the back of my head. When he had the ability to stand, he rushed out without a word.
Later, right before close, he came in and began to purchase another item.
"I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to offend you."
"You know, it would probably be best if you didn't ever come in here again, and make sure I never see your face." I said with a stone-cold stare.
"Understood. Again, I'm really sorry."

I got an escort home that night. I also told them I would be needing an escort for at least the next month.
I called the police station Wednesday night, and visited them Thursday morning and explained what had happened. I didn't press charges, but now his name is in the system for future refrence.
I haven't seen him since.
Oh! I also found this awesome self-defense class I can take next semester that counts as a credit. I'm pretty excited actually :)

Aimlessly:)

Thank Jesus first round of tests are over. *Giant sigh of relaxation* I love when I get to get on here and throw some emotions around aimlessly. I know I haven't been here long, but I am about to make the four hour drive home!
The funny thing about going home, is it's kind of like my gas station. I'll be completely running on empty, and just a call to a parent will give me a few more "gallons" so to speak. Going home is like topping off the tank. I guess it's just because I'm a home-personality. Haha. I guess that's kind of the way God works. Every Sunday, it's like going to the gas station and filling up for free. Throughout the week, a quick prayer or talk with Him should give you the umph to make it through the day. Gotta love it.
Had a meeting with the survivalist group here on campus last night. It's crazy what type of backgrounds these individuals come from. One young man is from Ohio, never shot a gun before, never planted a garden, and has never been camping. We will teach him well.
Anyway, last night was really interesting, because I mentioned something about MDR's solar bathhouse, and it seemed to get everyone's attention. So I brought up the blog pictures and explained the over-all purpose of the house. A couple snickered, but the majority of the group was interested in the dynamics of the building and such. So I think we are going to plan a tour sometime soon ;) just kidding! haha.
The older individual of the group was interested enough that he actually drew up plans to build a solar shower in his backyard. (His parents live in the next town over so he is just going to build it there.) I plan to take plenty of pictures for y'all to compare to the real deal.
So that's all the ramblings I have time for today, sorry if it's all over the place, I'm just oober excited about the trip home.
Y'all have a safe weekend!!
:)