Daddy's birthday

OK, keeping up with this blog site has not been a top priority for me obviously. But I couldn't let today go by without acknowledging my father, David Self. If he were still alive, he would be turning 88 today. Wow, that's hard to believe. The hardest part is that it's been more than 21 years since he suddenly dropped dead of a massive heart attack at the young age of 66. It just doesn't seem that long ago.

I often wonder what he would be like if he were still alive today. Would he still be as sharp as he was? Would he still be in good shape and handsome? Even as he aged and his hair thinned and grayed, he always looked distinguished to me. My mother, too.

Helen Self lived another 12 years after Daddy died. It's hard to believe she's been gone now for nearly 10 years.

For the past month, I've been spending a lot of intensive time revisiting my parents' lives as I work on the book I'm writing about them. So I'm tenderly present to who they were, what their lives were like as children, as young adults meeting for the first time, then raising a family in Alabama while also devoting themselves to the things they were most passionate about -- education and the Methodist Church. They also both earned doctorates in the process. I don't know how they did all that with four rambunctious children underfoot.

They were amazing people and continue to be an inspiration to me. I'm proud to be their daughter.

Happy birthday, Daddy. I miss you both.