I was always a daddy's girl. Momma and I were close and we talked daily but when it came to problems or decisions, I always turned to Daddy. He was a quiet man--I would do well to mimic that from him sometimes. I catch myself so often saying things that were his phrases and I smile. He was a smart man.
"When you work, work hard; when you play, play hard" is one of my favorites. We play hard in our family but we have to work hard to do it.
"When people think of Tara, they should always think of someone who wouldn't say anything bad about anyone else." That is a tough one sometimes, even now.
"Because we are Christians." I'm just gonna let that one sit there and be what it needs to be when it needs to be something.
When I think of my family and what I want Emmy to remember, it's the things that he showed me. Two stand out more than anything.
1. Always have a family dog. They will always love you and they will never tell your secrets. And isn't the way that Emmy cares for our dog a glimpse of how she will care for me one day? Gosh, I hope not.
2. Always take a family vacation. The most vivid memories I have as a kid are from vacations. We only have 18 years to live together in one house. I have to make every single one count.
