True love exists.

Do everything with pride and dignity.

Always plan your car trip ahead of time.

Read the instructions and manuals before you begin to work.

Keep your cooler stocked with Mountain Dew for lunch breaks and beers for clocking out.

Picking crabs is an art form.

The job isn’t done right if you’re not proud of your work.

Steak is best enjoyed medium rare.

Asparagus is the best vegetable.

Never quit…okay, it’s alright to quit sometimes, but just don’t give up too soon.

Love is more important than money and material things.

The best way to spend extra money is by making memories with your loved ones.

Say “I love you” all the time, and freely give hugs and kisses.

It’s okay for men and women to show their tenderness and express their feelings.

Whistle and sing often.

You probably won’t get pulled over if you’re driving 8 MPH over the speed limit.

Mustaches are cool.

Change elements of your life when you need to, even if it’s hard.

Don’t let the dog beg for food in the kitchen.

Don’t prejudge people, and give them second chances.

Most people are good hearted. We are all born kind.

Diligently compare prices and customer reviews before you buy something.

Have nicknames and inside jokes with the people you love. It’s something special you can always share with them.

A little dark humor is good, but corny jokes are the best.

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.

Genuinely ask people about themselves, and show you care by listening to them and remembering the little details.

Mom deserves the best of everything, and so do you. Don’t settle for less.

Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Unless it’s upside down, then it might be lefty tighty.

Play in the ocean, but never turn your back on the waves.

The waves come in sets of three, and the third one is usually the best for boogie boarding.

Red sky at night is a sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning is a sailor’s warning.

Only flip hamburgers once.

Stand up to bullies.

Let loose on the dance floor.

Help anyone who needs it.

If something breaks, try to fix it, but know when to move on.

Double check ratchet straps and trailer hitches.

Packing up the car for road tips is a geometry puzzle and you can definitely make it all fit. Just don’t block your mirrors and windows.

Check your breaks in the ice and snow.

Kids need sports and hobbies to keep them out of trouble and cultivate the best traits and values.

Courage and bravery isn’t a lack of fear, it’s overcoming the things that scare you.

Trust your instincts.

Work hard.

Eat breakfast for dinner.

Love your family.

Enjoy your friends.

Laugh lots.

Get lost in the moment.

Wholeheartedly soak up life.

Never forget how loved you are.

Being adopted means having a biological and adopted father, and it shows you what a father truly is. A father is not the man who creates you, for anyone can have sex and concieve a child. Anyone can choose to call themselves father and after 18 years of never being in your life ask you to look at them as such. No, my father was the man who tried to teach me to ride a bike although he failed. The man who carried me in from our backyard when a nail went through my foot and although he had no idea what to do, still made sure I was okay. The man who was at every award ceremony I had with flowers to congratulate me and tell me how proud he was of me. The man who loved me despite being a jock as a teen and now had a goth, feminist daughter who wanted to lift weights and drive sports cars instead of paint her nails and become a cheerleader. A father is your rock and the person who supports and believes in you. My father may have dementia and some days not know who I am, but I will always know who he is and what he means to me.

something in the way Nina says his name shifts; the word becomes a title, an endearment, a longing. His name becomes something paternal, reverently leaving her mouth instead of the spitting hiss of her usual sarcasm.

Somewhere between “of course I give a shit about you” and “Around you I’m the man I once was” ‘Davie’ starts to sound a hell of a lot like ‘Dad’.

But despite all of her being his daughter, she can’t bring herself to call him dad. The word sits wrong in her mouth, speaks of this untouchable concept she longed for just out of reach, warped by abandonment. He isn’t Dad. She resents the word ‘Dad’; a title unfit for Davie. For her Davie. He is every bit her father, and everything ‘Dad’ could never be.

“Do you think Lane and Ania are watching us?”

Nina’s tucked up under Davie’s chin, cradled back to chest on the couch. the silence that follows makes her fidget with his fingers, twined with her own on her stomach.

“Davie?”

Nina’s not good with silences.

His responding “Hm?” reminds her of the absent minded sleepy conversations on the living room floor. Reminds her of broken glass and quiet reassurances. Reminds her of Star Wars and black coffee.

“do you think Lane and Ania are watching us?”

“I think they’re sitting up there taking care of each other like you and me. They’re up there conspiring, I betcha.”

a stutter of breath marks his hesitation, they’ve never been good at the mushy shit.

“i reckon Lane sent me you, and if I can guess anything about your momma I’d say she sent you me.”

Truth be told neither Davie nor Nina really believe in a higher power but the thought is nice. A final resting place with your lost and loved. Arms to receive you after lonely cold nights.

“I’m glad they did”

“Me too, baby”

But who needs receiving arms in death when she has these ones wrapped around her right now?

Davie knows Nina can’t fill the gaping hole Lane left. But Nina, despite his best efforts, carved her own place in his chest. Yeah, He could love two daughters.