"I'm glad it's your birthday. Happy birthday to you"

Yesterday was my dad's 54th birthday. And more than anything this one was MUCH anticipated after such a crazy year of ups and downs. He'll tell anyone, "I'll take all the birthdays's I can get at this point." Which can be a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of adults who more than dread each passing birthday.
The day started with Cody, Jake and I having breakfast with him down at his favorite diner, the rose. He has breakfast there almost every morning. And he HAS to be there at the same time because that is when "the group" is there. There's Francis, a man who lives down town and is very in shape for his age. He has no tv, radio, or car. He seems happy all the time. He's one of those people you don't even have to talk to know their outlook on life. He wears it in his smile, which is always plastered across his face. There's Rose and Hubert. An older couple. Hubert, I think, suffered a stroke a couple years back. And Rose has stuck by his side everystep of the way. I really like seeing them together. It reminds me of my grandparents. You can't deny that even after all these years and hardships, they still love eachother.
Every morning when my dad goes down there, they don't even give him a menu. He has all the specials of the day memorized. And that's what he gets. And black coffee.
After breakfast we ran some errands while I frantically tried to invite people to his birthday dinner at the ram. The plan was to meet my aunt up there, but I really wanted his birthday to have more recognition. I hated admitting it to myself, but what if this was his last birthday? I wanted people to see him. And see how much it means to him to have people around. Because even though my brothers and I try our best, everyone still needs friends. Everyone still gets lonely. When we arrived at the Ram I had to ask to book the banquet room because we had close to 25 people show! I was so suprised to see so many old/new friends!
My dad stood and thanked everyone for coming. We all went around and introduced ourselves and how we knew my dad. People shared stories, gave cards and ate lots. I think all in all it turned out to be a great present for him.
As I'm sure most of you know, tomorrow we will be heading to Montana. There are a few sights he wants to see, and won't rest til he does. I will be documenting our trip with photos and blog updates so please stay tuned, and stay in touch.

Thank you to all for making his birthday so special. He appreciated it MORE than you know. And so did I.