*The amount of sappiness this post contains may or may not have something to do with the fact that I haven't been home in two months, I'm homesick, and have "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw on repeat.*
My siblings and I have spent our entire lives hearing, "Are you Mr. Joe's daughter/son?!" on a regular basis. It is impossible to go anywhere with my dad without hearing someone say, "Mr. Joe!" Even when we are miles and miles away from Mississippi. This is not an exaggeration, people. It happened to my parents on their honeymoon in Hawaii, and it even happened to us when we were walking through a museum in Washington DC a few years ago. Basically, if any of us want to make a quick trip to the store, or anywhere for that matter, we don't take my dad. Sorry, Dad. :)
When I moved to Starkville, I was silly enough to think that if I didn't go near the music buildings or the band hall, I wouldn't hear much of that anymore. False. I still hear it all the time.
Sometimes it's really funny and really awkward. A few weeks ago, I met some people who are in band. We were talking about high school band and stuff, and they asked where I went to high school. I said Ocean Springs and they looked at each other. Then, they said, "That band is HUGE. We used to hate going to contests and stuff that you guys went to because you were all SO GOOD! I heard they have a really good band director too. But UGH, Ocean Springs is so good. Did you like your director?"
"Uhh.. err.. welllll.."
See? Awkward.
I never understood what the big deal is. I know he's Mr. Joe and has taught everyone and their mom, aunt, and grandma. I know he has won a bajillion awards and changed even more lives than that. I know the OSHS band is known as one of the best bands in Mississippi and is known for playing the BEST arrangement of our national anthem because of him. (Fun fact: that's his arrangement. It makes people cry and is known by EVERYONE.) (Next fun fact: I like to brag about him because he's too modest to tell anyone any of this.)
He also tends to act like a child. So don't take his mad death glare too seriously. ;)
I guess I never paid much attention to how big of a deal he is because he's not Mr. Joe to me. He's Dad. (or Daddy when I want something. ;) Just kidding. Maybe.) He taught me how to ride a bike and how to play baseball. He's the reason I am so good at playing "Name That Tune" and am always helping my friends who are in music appreciation or music theory classes. He happily played along with my "hair salon" game while my sister and I put hair clips and bows on his head, even though I'm sure he was thanking God for giving him a son the whole time. He would tuck me into bed at night and we would do our nightly ritual. We'd say our prayers, and then do our eskimo, fishy face, and butterfly kisses. I would giggle and giggle, and then we would exchange I love yous. After I said I loved him too, he would say, "I love you three." We'd make the number go higher and higher, until I'd finally say, "I love you as far as the number line goes! I WIN!" I still think of that every now and then when I'm falling asleep at night.
When my mom would leave for a PTO meeting or something, he would blast Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin and we would dance around the living room. I would stand on his shoes, or stand on the piano bench when I wanted to be tall. I was always so fascinated with the trumpets at the beginning of "The Way You Look Tonight" and he promised that would be our song at my wedding. I still can't wait for that day.
It's weird though. The older I get, the more I realize that so much of who I am now at 19 years old is because of the things he taught and gave me. The intense love for Disney that my siblings and I all share couldn't possibly come from anyone else. I mean, what do you expect when you have a dad that takes you and all of his students to Disney World every year? And there is no doubt that my insane love and passion for teaching comes from him. Every time I get started on my "WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY JOBS IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT TEACHERS!" rant, I sigh and smile a little, because I know exactly where I got that from. I have always known what I wanted to do with my life because of him. He inspires me daily and reminds me why I want to be a teacher.
Everyone is always telling me how great of a band director Mr. Joe is. That's so true. But here's one thing you don't know.
He's an even better dad.
There are not enough words I could type in this sappy blog post that could explain how thankful I am to have such a wonderful dad.
Happy Birthday, Dad!! I am so proud of everything you do, even though I used to spend so much time rolling my eyes at all of it. I miss you so much, and I can't wait to see you in a few days. There is no man I will ever be able to love as much as I love you, but when I think I've found someone that comes close, you and I will have a blast dancing to our song.
I love you as far as the number line goes. :)
Love,
Your Sweet Peas
PS- As always, thank you for choosing kids instead of fish. I personally think you made an excellent choice. :)
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