Dave Update- June 17, 2011

Hello Family and Friends, Dave is plugging along today.  He's feeling a bit better and started to eat some small meals.  He even started to ease slowly back with a short walk.  He's in training I guess for our visit tomorrow.  His numbers are continuig to rise.  A matter of fact he is doing so well he does not have to go back for a doctor's appointment until Monday!  That means he has the whole weekend free, yay!  And maybe, just maybe, they might remove his port sometime next week. 

Cory and I are heading out real early in the morning for our visit.  We are so excited to see them and get to spend part of Father's Day in Palo Alto.  Speaking of Father's Day:

I have to say God has blessed me with two amazing dads.  I've been a daddy's girl from birth and couldn't imagine that another man could hold a special place in my life like my real dad.  But, as you know by now, there was one... Dave.

I met Dave when I believe I was 12 or 13.  My brothers were 14, 16, and 3 if my estimation is correct.  I actually remember one of the first times I met Dave, and frankly I'm surprised I ever saw him again.  My mom loves to tell this story, probably because she is just as shocked as I am that he came back around.  My mom was working when she called the house to check on us and I told her that my older brother and his friend were throwing up EVERYWHERE!  I was crying and freaking out and trying my best to clean up the mess.  My mom sent Dave by to check on us.  What was SHE thinking?  Seriously, was she trying to scare the guy away?  Here he comes by, I'm crying and he's having to help me get my brother in the shower to clean him up.  There was throw up everywhere, even in the front of the house!  I don't recall all of the details, just that Dave tried his best to help.  The funny thing is, not too long after that he told my mom he was relocating from Santa Maria (where we lived) to the Valley.  Hmmm, curious, no?  There are differing accounts of what happened at this point, but the end result was that my mom and Ben moved to Hanford, and then ultimately to Visalia with Dave, where they've been ever since.  I stayed behind and lived with my dad, but would visit often on holidays and in the summer. 

There are so many experiences and memories that make up a relationship and Dave has been here for most of my milestones:  College, multiple heart aches, trips abroad and the most important:



Me and Dave dancing the Father/Daughter dance at my wedding.  My dad walked me down the aisle and I shared my first dance with Dave. 

My mom and Dave were there for the birth of my first child, Eden.  Dave videotapped me while I was in labor and was in the waiting room while I delivered my precious baby daughter.

Three years later, along came Mason who shares his middle name with his Granpa,  Mason David

These are just a few of the examples of what makes up our relationship.  I'm so looking forward to many more.  I've shared this poem I wrote for Dave with you all before, but I have to include it under this section as Father Day approaches.  It really does sum up all my feelings for Dave. 

To Father, From Daughter

What makes a Father-Daughter bond so strong?

Is it a biological thread that makes us belong?

Do genetics, chromosomes, and heredity from the start

Determine what ultimately makes up our heart?

If this is true, than look no farther;

I’m simply a mixture of my father and mother

Is that the only answer of what make me, me?

Or could I have fallen farther from the tree?

Wasn’t I shy and afraid of everything new?

Wasn’t I the quiet girl that didn’t have a clue?

No goals and no ideas of what I could be.

But you had a way of seeing way beyond me.

You showed me the world was so much larger.

And that never trying just made things harder.

You watched me fail and make mistake after mistake.

Never letting me fall completely flat on my face

 When I look in the mirror, it’s you that I see

Not so much physically, but spiritually.

We have the same flaws, same restlessness, and dry wit.

There’s an understanding here that some just don’t get.

What does “step” father mean anyway?

Does it mean you are a step lower or step farther away?

Does it define you as having less worth?

Simply because you didn’t witness my birth?

I know without a doubt that biology doesn’t matter

It’s not what makes up a father and daughter

It’s investment in time, in laughter, and pain

It’s more than sharing a person’s last name.

Genetics has nothing to do with what’s real

It’s your imprint on my soul that sealed the deal

Now it’s my time to show all I’ve learned

Now that the tables have finally turned.

I will be here for you, as you’ve been there for me

In sickness and in health or whatever it may be

When you look in my eyes, don’t look any harder

What you will see is a daughter’s love for her father.