Our Father, Who Art in the Studio, with headphones on.

 Being that today is fathers day, it causes me to reflect and ponder on my experiences with 'fathers'. 

There is my Father-in-law Sam:

Sam Attaya is seriously, one of the best people ON THIS PLANET! He is the kind that will sit and listen to all your problems and really be interested in what you are saying, no matter what other important thing he has going on. He is kind and generous, and always has a piece of advice for you. He is also the type who will turn EVERYTHING in to a teaching moment. It is so sweet to see him holding my little boy and pointing out a tree or a cloud or a toy animal, and telling him something about it. 

   Then there is my wonderful husband Robert:

Robert has only been a daddy for three years, but he has (in my COMPLETELY un-biased opinion) done a fantastic job! He takes such meticulous care of our babies. I feel pretty pleased with myself for picking such an  outstanding father for our children!

Then, of course, there is, My Dad:

Paul Shiver is one of the most unique individuals you will ever run across, as well as one of the HARDEST people to shop for when it comes to fathers day/birthday/christmas gifts! I always ask him what he wants, and he sits back, looks thoughtful and says, "You know, I don't know!" which is the MOST un-helpful answer EVER! 

My father has made my life more interesting and great than I could ever imagine otherwise.

Here are a few examples of why MY Daddy is better than YOUR daddy! (Okay at least different from your daddy!)

• I am the oldest of my siblings and so when my mom was pregnant with me she and my dad had alot of  fun picking out names. One day, out of the blue he was sitting in the bathtub (yes I just said the bathtub) and yelled to my mother from across the house "THNUR!!!" my mother reacted appropriately "Huh??" My father responded "I thought of the perfect name! Thnur! Thnur Albedo!!" -Thank you Daddy, for NOT naming me 'Thnur'
• When I was about five years old my dad bought the original Nintendo console, for "us kids". He set it up in HIS bedroom.......... I remember sitting on my parents bed while my dad utilized every cheat available in Super Mario brothers and 'Saved the Princess' in under ten minutes. -Thank you Daddy for teaching me how to get the flute in Mario Brothers 3 so I could feel cool around my friends.
• When we lived in Millington TN. there was a really cool playground that had a slide built on a downhill slope. It was probably 20 feet long, metal, and was kind of wavy. Truly it was the coolest slide I think I have ever seen. When I was about eight years old, my dad drove us to the park and pulled out a can of 'turtle wax' he then proceeded to take about 45 minutes and wax the entire slide, TWICE! we spent the next hour FLYING down that slide! -Thank you Daddy for doing silly/fun things with us so we could have an awesome childhood!
• Dad is and always has been a musician as well as music-lover. We would sit in his studio for HOURS at a time just listening to ALL kinds of music! As a result of this I have an INCREDIBLY varied taste in music. From Journey, to Chicago, to Tears for Fears, to Seal, to the Mama's and the Papa's, to name just a few. -Thank you Daddy for exposing me to all kinds of music, and teaching me to listen to everything before I make a judgement on it!
• Dad has a sweet tooth. I cannot tell you how often I have heard "HEY! I want a 'sweetie treatie' and after searching the kitchen, gets into the car to drive to the store for ice cream/hostess cakes/cookies. -Thank you Daddy for teaching me the importance of dessert!

So there it is. Happy Father's day to all the great dad's out there! (but not the mediocre ones)