Dad would have been 70 years old today. It always seemed appropriate that Dad had an April Fool’s birthday. In this picture, he’s cutting into a cardboard cake decorated with frosting to appear real. I love Aunt Helen’s expression at the right! Rosie on the left also appears to be having a good time with it, as does Dad.

My kitchen calendar is one of those freebies you can get anywhere–I picked mine up at my bank. It’s an “inspiration” calendar with monthly encouraging themes. When I turned it to April this morning, the theme was “individuality.” I also thought that was fitting for Dad. It says, “Why try so hard to fit in when you’re born to stand out?” When you have 13 siblings, you have to do something in order to stand out from the pack! Dad did that perfectly.

At a reading last year, someone whom my family has known for years pointed to my red hair and facial piercings and said with a laugh, “What would your dad think of that?” Without hesitation, I said, “He’d love it!”

I forget on occasion that Dad shared a birthday with another important person in my life, Vicki Mittelsteadt. Happy 53rd birthday, Vicki.