The Blog Less Traveled

Who is Beaners? Hopefully, I won’t be embarrassing her too much, but that is my daughter’s nickname that only I really use when we talk together. I don’t remember exactly when I started using it, but I think it morphed from how Alana pronounced her name when she was only 2-3 years old – Lanie Beanie. I imagine there are many dads that have a special name they use when talking to their daughter.

Anyway, the other day I was scanning pictures into my computer from some of our old photo albums and came across some pictures of my daughter that I hadn’t seen in years. It brought up lots of good memories and times from years past. Sometimes she was a little stinker, but when she looked at me with those big blue eyes of hers, she could melt you in a heartbeat. I remember when we first lived in Monterey, CA and almost every Saturday morning we would jump in the Z3, put the top down, pop in a tape with Ozzie Osborne’s song, “I Just Want You” and sing it as loud as we could to each other. We’d stop at a little Mom & Pop grocery store, get a roast beef sub and soda and head to the ocean. I’ll never forget those days as long as I live. I look back at all the years as she was growing up and it’s hard to remember any times when she ever really disappointed us. You hear so many stories of kids rebelling and causing all sorts of problems in their teenage years, but it never really happened to us. Was she perfect – heck no. There were learning experiences for both of us. As parents of an only child, we made a few mistakes and learned a few things along the way. All in all though, there are few things we would have done differently. She’s 24 now, finishing up her second year of medical school. To say that her dad is very proud of her would be a big understatement. But as proud as I am of her accomplishments thus far, I’m proudest of what a kind, sweet and thoughtful young lady she’s turned out to be. What else could a dad ask for? I wouldn’t trade my Beaners for anything this world could ever offer. Love you, Beaners!!!

Below are some pictures that I scanned in recently. There’s one where she was about 2 years old and wearing my flight jacket. The one with the little boy is from when she was the flower girl for my sister-in-law’s wedding. The one with me smiling and holding her was when I had just returned from Spain after a short deployment.

So, why did I write this posting, other than to tell my girl how much I love her and how proud of her that I am? Maybe you have someone, either a loved one, a friend or acquaintance that you’ve been meaning to tell how much he or she means to you. Don’t miss an opportunity because you sometimes don’t get a second chance. Just do it!