Wednesday, August 3, 2011

In Which We Admit to Some Pretty Serious Daddy Issues...

So, you know those really bad ass, sexy, crazy hot, borderline misogynistic guys that everyone loves to read about in YA? Yeah, we suck at writing those guys.

I have no idea why we suck at writing them because we grew up swooning over those dudes just like everyone else. Let's face it there's absolutely no way 16-year-old Lisa would have been playing for Team Jacob, that hormone addled teenager would have been Team Edward all. the. way. Because really, who doesn't love smexy, manic depressive vampires who watch you sleep and kill other vampires just because they think you smell like food?

But adult Lisa married the nice guy and wants to take Bella out for a latte and beg her to choose the gorgeous werewolf who will be a true life partner. Because if there's anything that resonates with teenage girls it's the term "life partner."

Lisa wishes she had a Team Edward shirt to offset her wicked brows.
As much as we suck at hot, dangerous, guys, we rock the quirky nerdy types.  And it just recently occurred to me why we gravitate towards these types of characters. Two words: Mike Roecker.

It takes a pretty amazing guy to raise three girls and my dad is beyond amazing and full of random.

I have never, ever screened a call from my dad because you know when he's calling it's going to be something completely off the wall. Whether it's a quick tip about Maroon Five being the next big band (in January 2011, approximately 5 years after their first hit) or a detailed analysis of the lack of patriotism in America based on the Stanley Cup Finals, you don't want to miss that call.

Real men wear jams
Growing up with my Dad was always an adventure. He took us exploring on the railroad tracks behind our house Stand By Me style and once famously forced our 5-year-old sister to take a dump on the tracks instead of walking 10 minutes back to our house. That's just how he rolls.

He's seen Celine Dion live several times without my mom (she hates Celine) and loves Star Wars and watched the entire season of My So-Called Life with us when we were in high school. If you ask him a question about a car you'll inevitably get a 30 minute answer. He used to cut the crusts off our sandwiches in our lunch boxes and write notes signed Mr. Wonderful just to humiliate us. He took approximately a million photographs and hours of video footage of us growing up giving us ample fodder for humiliating blog posts. He built us a playground, made us cry when he told us we were taking a detour to "Hardware Heaven" on the way home from school and was the best person to go grocery shopping with because he let you buy whatever you wanted. Even if it wasn't on sale.

Mike Roecker: Runner up in a local Max Headroom look alike contest.


My dad was also the person who taught me how to read and let me tell him the entire plot of whatever lame-ass book I was reading at the moment when I was in middle school. In retrospect, I bet he encouraged me to start reading Stephen King just so he could escape the drama of the Wakefield twins.






So, thanks Dad. Thanks for being random. Thanks for teaching us to love books. Thanks for telling us we could do anything and be anyone. And thanks for inspiring all of our quirky male characters. Happy Birthday! We love you!!!

XOXO,
L&L(&S)

22 comments:

Creepy Query Girl said...

what a fabulous tribute! I definitely agree it takes a special kind of guy to raise all girls- My dad raised me and my three sisters. And I'm so grateful to have a man like that of my own- my husband is an amazing dad to our three little girls.

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Great post, ladies. What an awesome birthday tribute for your dad!

Laura Pauling said...

They say to write what we know! what a wonderful post. :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Loretta Nyhan said...

Your dad is all kinds of awesome! Happiest of Birthdays, Mike!

April (BooksandWine) said...

Your dad is awesome. End of story.

Happy birthday.

Also huge yay for nerdy guys, they are WAY more interesting to read about than boring old perfect Edward Cullen.

Liz Reinhardt said...

Hahaha! I love that he made your sister take a dump on the tracks! It's such a 'survival' dad move! He sounds amazing and hilarious! And I completely agree with April...reading about Edward never cracked me up the way reading about your dad just did!

storyqueen said...

I love the Mr. Wonderful notes!!

And Hardware Heaven!

Your dad is awesome.

Shelley

Dara said...

Aww...how sweet! :)

Stacey Vaughan said...

Thanks so much for bringing up my bowel movement to your 1,000+ readers. At least Dad got me over my fear of going in public...defintiely came in handy in college.

Stacey Vaughan said...

side note- my feet look ridiculously big in the top picture. But then again, maybe it's the orthopedic shoes and the slimming fanny pack.

Little Ms J said...

So sweet! Your dad must have been a special man to deal with three of you chicklets. When I called my dad to wish him a Happy Bday last week he asked me where the hell his annual Father's Day blog post was... He's pretty cool too.

Natalie said...

Awww! This was so cute. Your dad sounds like an awesome guy.

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Jemi Fraser said...

Happy Birthday to your dad! I love your stories - he sounds like a fantabulous dad!! :)

Marsha Sigman said...

Happy Birthday!!!

I married a Mike. I should be the favorite...even if I am only the adopted blogger sister whom you don't know. I also probably would have crapped on the tracks without being forced at five years old.

I'm just sayin.

(and you totally look like Max Headroom, which frightens me a little. Mainly because I remember who that is.)

Katie Anderson said...

Oh my gosh this made me laugh out loud in such a way that my daughter rushed over to see what I was reading. But then I teared up, to which she said, "You're such a dork."

Awesome post! You are some lucky girls!!!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

What a WONDERFUL tribute to your father! He sounds like a dream dad--which I did NOT have. I loved reading this. :-)

Tess said...

love this ... very cool stuff.

Elana Johnson said...

I love this post! It's so true that we find ourselves writing characters that we love. They usually come from pieces of our lives. Love your dad!

Also, the "real men wear jeans" comment cracked me up.

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