In honor of Father’s Day, I’m going to share a funny tale of the man I call my father. My dad is a musician and music teacher by trade. To put it mildly, he’s a really talented dude. During my formative years, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know my dad within the next 4 cities. Seriously, we couldn’t go to the grocery store or movies without running into some my dad knew. As a kid, it was totally annoying because it usually turned into a talking session lasting 30 minutes or so (maybe 5 minutes, but to an 8 year old, that’s infinity).

-My family circa Christmas 2005

Fast forward 15 years, sometime in 2012, I was obsessed with the Myers-Briggs test, and basically held a gun to my parents’ heads in order for them to take the test too. My mom’s results were pretty spot on, but my dad, that was a whole other story. Simply put, my dad loves people, he could strike up a conversation with virtually anyone. So why his results marked him as an introvert is beyond me. I remember my mom and me laughing at the results because it was the complete opposite of his personality. One of the best qualities of my father is the fact that he is such an externally open person, incredibly giving of his time, and just an overall nice human being.

Yesterday, my mom texted me that they were trying to get the internet setup in their house and my dad and the service tech were going on and on about music, while my mother was anxiously waiting for WiFi. Even funnier, after his conversation with the service tech, he made friends with the new gardener. I had to laugh as I remembered the personality test, thinking “yeah, my dad the introvert, he’s so emotionally drained from communicating with others”.

-The old man sleeping on our way to SF

While I’m here in Santa Barbara and my Dad is at home in Monterey, I’m taking this morning to reflect of the awesome person who I have the privilege and honor of calling my father. Don’t worry, I’ll be seeing him in a week and a half, so I’m sure we’ll have some fun shenanigans, as we always do. So Dad, here’s to you on your day. Thank you for your unconditional love, guidance and support during these last 25 years. I love you!!! Also to all the other dads out there, happy Father’s Day and have a great one!

-Pops and I 16 years ago