Summer Gala

Kenn is a very dear friend of mine and a well-known national television consultant for almost 30 years. We met more than 20 years ago & have worked together at two TV stations in Texas and Illinois. A few days ago, we met at an annual summer gala for an evening of dancing, laughing and reminicing.  

So neat about dates – my husband & I met on Father’s Day and Phillip shares my father’s birthday; Kenn and I share the same birth date, January 31st, and the same wedding anniversary in June. I always love that kind of stuff… 🙂

The evening was great fun, especially for our 6 year old who enjoyed dancing with Daddy, twirling & flying.

It was great to see old friends

 especially Luis who suffered a stroke a year ago, he looks fantastic now, thank God!!

 

The Bright SpotTM  – Family, friends and good times. Happy Summer!

The following story is about my greatest hero, thanks for sharing it with me. ~b

Daddy

My Daddy was my hero.

Kind and loving, generous and hardworking, he loved his family and we adored him.

Below is a photo tribute for my father. Happy Father’s Day, I miss you so.

The quote, “A Happy Childhood Lasts Forever,” sums up my father’s parenting style – an amazing storyteller, an excellent Santa, a funny Daddy who was bigger than a mountain and softer than a teddybear.

My father held us up and made us believe in ourselves. (Me in the 60s, my sister in the 70s):

One of 7 children,   (2nd in pic), he left his country and came to the USA in his early 20s, with no family, no friends, just a few dollars in his pocket, and worked tirelessly to put himself through college, met my mom, got his MBA,  

and they built & earned a life together living the American Dream.

                                                             (1st Christmas with mom)

He worked day & night to give my mom, sister & me an incredible life, for which we are forever grateful,  

but even with life’s ups & downs, there he was with a huge & brilliant smile – the most optimistic person I’ve     

ever known! My strength in “Mission: Bright Spot” (read above) comes directly from Daddy.

He founded 6 companies, and as busy as he was, he was never too busy for us. Daddy dropped everything if my sister or I phoned him or popped by the office. He would stop conferences mid-meeting and get up to kiss us & give us a great, big hug.

(Good eye if you recognized my favorite little blue daisy dress above in the picture from 23 years ago – it’s the same dress I wore last year for the photo in the above header of this website – I’ll never get rid of it! 🙂

Inventor of several patents, Daddy was a math genius and was there anytime we needed help with school work. Education was of the utmost importance to my father! Education and persistence.    

He always made it a point to pick us up at the airport. When we were little, he read to us at night, took us skiing, ice skating, sledding, horseback riding, boating, and every summer filled his car with neighborhood kids for a trip to Dairy Queen.

Daddy loved to dance…

 (gala in the 80s)

…but God needed him, so I never had the chance to dance with him at my wedding.

I met my incredible husband on FATHER’S DAY and Phillip & my Dad share the SAME BIRTHDAY! Signs everywhere!

At our wedding in England, Phillip’s wonderful father walked me down the aisle. Too weak to travel due to illness, my sweet father-in-law did not attend the wedding in the States.

God has called my dear father-in-law as well.  Now both Dads watch over us.

My father’s best friend, Ali, escorted me in the States.(Daddy and Ali goofing around in the 70s)

Many years have passed since my beloved father died suddenly and unexpectedly.

He was laid to rest on Valentine’s Day…appropriate for a man with such a big heart.

He was smart.

He was strong.

He was cool.

He was kind.

He was goofy.

And he was my hero.

My father loved children, it is clear.

He lives on in our family & our memories 

and I thank you for sharing this beautiful & poignant holiday with me.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Daddies in the world – no matter how busy you are, nothing can take the place of your quality time with your children. Nothing.

This note sits atop my computer screen. My father was an inspiration to me and to many whom he mentored. Charismatic, fearless, a visionary, entrepreneur, motivator, a true patriot, he was larger than life and is deeply missed by all who knew him.

The Bright SpotTM   –  

Bold Moves

 

Thanks to you, this site had more than a quarter of a million page views in the first 33 days and listeners of the radio program and on the site reside in the USA, UK, Finland, Peru, Spain, South Africa, Malaysia, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Egypt and Sweden.

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The upcoming season looks great! Fully booked through November, we have 32 incredible, experienced and dynamic individuals scheduled, many of whom have been quoted from People magazine to this month’s issue of Parenting magazine (June 2011) and have been on shows like Today & Good Morning America, experts, authors, parents, and doctors as well as teens for our “Teen Talk!”TM segment, connecting parents and teens through understanding and communication.  

  Life  Love Parenting

The Bright SpotTM  – Ford’s slogans through the years: “Built Ford Tough,” “No Boundaries*,” “Bold Moves*,” “Drive One!”   ‘Nuff said!!