Dad

I love living in this little town where I grew up. I love that my dad grew up here. I still think of it as a small town even though it's not. I miss it being little. It's not so big that you don't always bump into people you know - and I like that,

When I was growing up, it didn't take long to know that being the daughter of Larry Holland was something to be proud of. He was/is kind of a legend here. Dad was in the class that picked the Ram as our mascot and the colors for our school. He was a football star, dubbed the Golden Toe, and also a baseball star. He played basketball too and wasn't too shabby in that sport. Every store we would go in he would start chatting with old friends about old times (we affectionately call that "hey bubba-ing". At Friday football games he usually ran the chains as part of the officiating team. We loved Homecoming since the programs were handed out that night and we always checked to see if he still held the records he set in high school. He still does. :)

I've always been proud to be his little girl. I still love bumping into him at the store - and we do about once a week. The kids love seeing pa-pa out in the town, and I love watching him grin and play with the kids - all while checking out what's in my cart and asking me if I found any good deals. He always knows who has the best deal on this-or-that. It's kind of what the two of us do. That and garden. We chat about our peppers and how our tomatoes are blooming, but the plants are dark green like they should be. Only stuff dads talk about.

He has had three heart attacks, a quadruple bypass and has diabetes. He finally retired a few years ago after working his entire life as a machinist - mostly for the aero-space industry. He is the definition of "a good 'ol boy."

I feel so blessed to still be one of his little girls! And, when we run into each other in town, for a moment, I'm not a mom or a wife or any other role I currently play....I'm a little girl again. I like that.