My Daddy

What can I tell you about my daddy?
Not much without getting mushy... I get that from him... he's an old sap.
James Edward Gant, Sr was born in Atlanta in 1949.
His father left when he was very young.
He was raised by a single mom and a wonderful woman named Lucille who took care of them.

His cousin, Leslie, was born the same week he was. They were raised like twins. (Leslie went home to be with the Lord in 2007 and he still misses her).
He was the middle child - with an older brother and a younger sister.

He hates shrimp.
He is the interim Minister of Music at his church.

He works with the youth in his church - and even climbed Stone Mountain with them last Friday (something he should never, never do)
He loves playing golf and would do it every day if life didn't get in the way.

He makes the best pimento cheese, tuna salad and salmon patties you will ever eat.
His chicken pot pie is also top notch.
He is the father of five children: Jimmy, Heather, Michael, Bryan, David
And the grandfather of twelve: Ryan, Tiffany, Cody, Austin, Cory, Elizabeth, Matthew, Sarabeth, Caleb, Jamie, Madeleine, Joshua
And the great-grandfather of two: Ethan James and Adrian

For the past year he has been taking care of four homes: grandma's, his, Cody's, and the mountain house.
He is retiring at the end of this year after 46 years with the same company.
He is a prostate cancer survivor.
He lost his two front teeth when he was a teenager when his brother punched him in the mouth.
He has a scar on his belly that he got from jumping on the bed and landing on a pair of scissors.
He never fails to make his granddaughters giggle just by telling them that he wants to eat "lady fingers" and then he "munches" on their fingers.

He can crochet and has made lots and lots of afghans.
He loves to paint.
His favorite child is his dog, Oscar.
He does all the grocery shopping.
He loves the Atlanta Falcons but can't watch them without getting aggravated.
He writes a devotional email every morning and sends it out to a lot of people.
He takes care of everything. Seriously. There has never been a problem in my life that my daddy couldn't solve. Even with my back, he makes things so much better by giving me a place to live, making sure I have everything I need, doing all the heavy lifting and hard work that I can't do. (The things that Mama doesn't do because she does uhhhhh-lot!)
So many of my friends have either lost their dads or never had a close relationship with their dad or never had a dad they could respect. I know that for my generation, my dad is the exception to the rule. I don't take that for granted. I know that no matter whatever happens in my life, my dad will be there. And I know that whenever the time comes for God to take him home, he will still be with me. I know that his legacy will live on for generations because he lived a life of doing the right thing. I think of his descendants and the amazing lives they live... it is because of his generosity, faith and influence on our lives.
Happy Father's Day, Pop!