Dad

I've been absent from this blog for a while because my father passed away two weeks ago.

My dad was so funny and smart and passionate about ideas. He studied philosophy his entire life, and was an avid political watcher. He had an amazing voice and a generous spirit. He used to play baseball in college, so he coached us from the sidelines in our softball careers. He always told a great story and encouraged my sister and I to become voracious readers like he was. We didn't always agree, but we liked having our debates. And he loved music.

I think I got from him intellectual curiousity, wit, a love for music and language and bad action movies, a healthy skepticism about institutions, and the ability to get very angry very quickly very irrationally (not the best thing, but still that was him). He ingrained the message in me that I could achieve whatever I wanted as long as I dedicated myself to it, and if something is worth doing, it's worth working to be the best at it.

I'll always regret that I was unable to say goodbye to him. I'm glad that what turned out to be our last conversation was a good one, and that I told him how much I loved him. I've put these great photos up of me and my dad together that I found at my mom's house. I think my favorite is us on the slide at Dutch Wonderland, just because my memory of that day when I was four or five is still so vivid. And you can see how happy I was just to go sliding with my dad. I miss him so much.