Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

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Dear Jack: Going to Olive Garden is a Special Treat for You and Your Sister

9 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack,

Last Friday while Mommy and I were enjoying our final full day in Colorado, you and your sister got to go somewhere special for dinner: Olive Garden.

Shortly after you arrived, you quietly announced, “Wow, this Olive Garden is really fancy!”

I find that hilarious because I’ve never known you to be impressed by a “fancy” restaurant.

It’s funny because when I was a kid, my idea of a good time at a restaurant was any place where the meal came with a toy and where there was a playground to enjoy after I ate.

But now, for the modern kid in 2020, maybe Olive Garden is the new McDonald’s!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Your Idea to Make Pumpkin Pie with Nonna

4 years, 4 months.

Dear Holly,

Knowing that Nonna and Papa would be coming up to take care of you while Mommy and I were away in Colorado, you put in your requests ahead of time:

“I want to make pumpkin pie with Nonna.”

So I let her know to bring the supplies up from Alabama.

You loved getting to make the pie while we were gone.

It was ready, perfectly in time for our return.

For the record, the pumpkin pie was exceptionally delicious!

And to think, this all happened because of your idea!

You thought of it all yourself. It was a plan that came together!

Love,

Daddy

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Our 1st “No Kids Vacation” in a Decade: Golden, Colorado

Nearly a year ago, my wife and I performed a song I wrote called “We’re Gonna Leave in the Morning”; which was the imagining of my wife and I taking a responsibility-free road trip together.

Last week, we made that fantasy a reality when we spent 4 days out in Golden, Colorado.

We rented a modernized carriage house that was just a couple of blocks from all the coffee shops and restaurants.

It was was only about 10 blocks away from South Table Mountain Park, where we were able to spend a couple hours hiking to the top; which oversaw the Coors plant.

And it turned out that we essentially only spent a total of $9 in entertainment the entire week, as we ended up taking a different 2 hour hike each day we were there. Only one of the parks we visited had an entry fee. It wasn’t the legendary Red Rocks…

It was Eldorado Canyon State Park.

That view was totally worth the nine dollars though. Right?

Growing up in northeastern Alabama, where my home was surrounded by DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon, I always imagined that Colorado would be a good fit for me.

I was right. If only I had my Jeep Wrangler with me while we where there…

We perfectly enjoyed our trip to Golden, Colorado- to the point we have decided we need to make this an annual tradition for the two of us.

The experience reminded me of the verse in Ecclesiastes (9:9), which I based my recent song from:

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Not only was it great quality time for to the two of us at amazing location, but it helped realize why this trip was superior the 6 hour drive to the Florida coast from our home near Nashville.

Because on a beach trip, we’re mainly just sitting around.

But on a Colorado vacation, we’re constantly moving and exploring.

That’s how my brain registers “rest and relaxation”- by being out in nature and burning calories the whole time.

So if that sounds like a vacation to you as well… then maybe you are also of the demographic who is called to the state of Colorado!

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When You Reconnect with a Childhood Friend You Haven’t Seen in 20 Years

I have known Josh Johnson since 1985. We grew up together in Fort Payne, Alabama and graduated high school there in 1999.

One of my earlier memories in life was when his mom picked us up from Mother’s Day Out preschool and we went to his house to play.

He’s one of those people I’ve always known and have been connected to; without even meaning to or even trying. I was just always in his life and he was just always in mine: Like the concept of a “constant”, as explained in the famous TV show, Lost.

So it wasn’t random that during Class Night, which is an official celebration a few days before high school graduation, my mom snapped a photo of us together. After all, we knew each other since before Kindergarten.

The next time I would see him would be a year and a half later, randomly at the local Mexican restaurant, Mi Casita, the summer before I transferred from community college to the university where got my degree in Virginia.

And then… twenty years would pass. 

This year, my wife and I had planned our first ever “vacation without the kids” for June, in Florida… but Covid Culture messed up that plan.

So we decided to move our plans to Denver in September.

I’m not exactly sure why I knew or remembered that Josh ended up in the Denver area, but somehow that knowledge was still in my head.

Though he hasn’t logged into Facebook in years, I was able to track him down (it makes sense, as I am a recruiter for a living) and let him know about our upcoming trip.

And as the picture above proves, last Saturday, he and I reunited after 20 years; since the year 2000.

What we both probably imagined would be maybe an hour, there at Navah Coffee House, ended up being 4 hours instead! We had so much to talk about- the only reason we left after only 4 hours was because my wife and I needed to catch our flight back to Nashville.

I think something that has become apparent at this point in our lives, is that we are forever connected. Some people you just can’t shake off.

And I’m pretty sure that next time, it won’t be another 20 years this time before we see other again.

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Dear Holly: Have I Called You “Daddy’s Girl” Yet?

4 years, 4 months.

Dear Holly,

Either I say this all the time or somehow I’ve only implied it so often I figured it didn’t need to say it…

But for the record, I totally claim you as “Daddy’s Girl”.

What helped me realize this is when Grandma got you a shirt that says that on it.

And it wasn’t really even until I took a picture of you wearing the shirt that I processed what it said:

That “Daddy’s Girl” is obviously how I see you.

You and I have a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else in this entire world.

Love,

Daddy