60.

Today, my dad turns 60. He will spend his 60th birthday in the California sunshine with my mother and two of their close friends by his side. He will run a 5K this morning to start off his 60th year and then enjoy a day tooling up the California coast with the wind in his hair. 

Though I love my mother with all my heart, I am a daddy's girl through and through. The saying goes that you can't choose your family. I'm glad that's true. My dad is truly the salt of the earth and I am beyond blessed to call him my father.

From my father, I inherited my love of running, a passion for graphic design, and the heart I wear on my sleeve. We have run more miles together than I have with any other person in my life. Through years of encouraging me on the cross country course {and in life}, he taught me how to rest on the bus. No matter how long it has been since our last run together, we always run perfectly in stride. 

My dad and I have shared 27 years on this earth and I can only hope those years were as happy for him as they have been for me. It is impossible to fathom that my dad is 60. To me, he will always be the smiling face I saw across the table at McDonald's while I ate my happy meal--looking all of 30 years old.

To my father on his 60th: thank you for teaching me what love is. Thank you for stopping whatever you're doing to take my phone calls. Thank you for being a God-fearing man and teaching me the importance of a Christ-centered life. Thank you for loving my other half, {cv}, like your own. Thank you for being you--because you are more than enough. I love you forever! {av}

{third image via Kate Headley}