I Love You, Dad

Since it's Father's Day, I want to send a shout-out to my dad. He's definitely the one person in this world I look up to the most. My dad is from the Chicago-area and my family has always been huge Cubs/Bears/Illinois sports fans. I remember when I was little, I used to watch the Cubs games, from beginning to end, just so I could give my dad the play-by-play when he got home from work. I was such a nerd that I would take notes, so I didn't forget anything. Then when basketball season rolled around, I would watch the Fighting Illini games with him and we'd talk about how they needed a coach with enough balls to scare the refs. My dad is great. Over the years he's given me some great advice, support and just downright funny, one-liners. I think I'll give you a peek into life with William Max McCormick as a dad:

-do not answer the phone when you're sitting down to eat dinner, or you'll get the evil-eye
-when the phone does ring, he answers it, "Si" (why, I have no idea)
-never ask him questions about what's going on in a movie, he'll say, "I don't know! Watch the movie!"
-my dad TOTALLY resembles Clint Eastwood & he watches his movies all the time..with a crooked grin on his face, like he just gets him
-when I would practice my piano, Dad would always say, "sounds good, slim..play it again"
-I was always embarrassed to have friends over when a Bears game was on because he would get so involved that he would yell really loud (now I do the same thing)
-after my dad retired, he was bored so he got a job at Wal-Mart for a few months..he worked in the electronics department. One night someone came up to him and asked him where they could find a certain item. He admitted he wasn't sure, so he took them on a hunt to find it. The customer said to him, 'well you work in Electronics, shouldn't you know where this is?' My dad's rebuttal was, "If you see someone wandering around in a hospital, do you just assume that they're a doctor??" I still laugh every time I think about that.
-very rarely can you get him to say, 'goodbye' at the end of a phone call...he just hangs up
-he never refrigerates his beer, he drinks it warm
-one time he said to me, "your mother lives to eat, but I just eat to live" (he's so mean!)
-he laughs at his own jokes that aren't very funny, but you can't help but laugh with him because his dimples are so big and his laugh is so contagious

I have so many stories I could share, but I'm sure that they're more meaningful, funny & interesting to me since I'm his daughter, than they would be to a stranger. However, if you've ever met my dad you could conclude that he's laid-back, sarcastic, gruff & grumpy at times, but extremely loving & giving. He's got a huge heart, although he'd never admit it and he's nothing less than my hero.

I love you Dad, happy Father's Day.