Happy Birthday to Dad

Hello, Dear Readers, Don’t forget to head to Jack in the Box today for your free tacos. See www.2freetacosday.com for the details. Today only, so don’t forget!

April, May, and June are big birthday celebration months in my family. My Dad’s birthday is at the end of May. Dad can be kind of hard to buy for - he has every tool known to mankind, a recliner, and a big TV. What more does a man need? So it’s always a great feeling when we hit on something especially creative that we know he’ll just love.

My sister hit the Dad-Birthday-Present Jackpot this year. She was having a hard time thinking of something extra special for him. She wanted to make it really good, because he and Mom help her out a lot with the kids, and she appreciates that. But, there again, what do you get the man who has everything?

After some thought she realized that Dad isn’t really in need of more “stuff”. For one thing, he has lots already, and for another thing, my parents’ home has very limited space. She looked around their house and noticed that their attached screened-in patio could definitely use a paint job. Painting is a boring thing to do, so Dad hadn’t gotten around to this job yet. The screens are made of wood (and screen, of course), enclosing a concrete slab; the back wall of the patio is the outside back of wall of the house (covered with wooden siding). It would be a really pleasant place to sit on a summer’s evening with a cold glass of sun tea, especially after a fresh paint job.

So she told Dad that she’d really like to paint the patio as a birthday gift for him. At first Dad wasn’t too sure; the patio had a lot of stuff accumulated in it (like old Duran Duran records from our teenage years). But after a little persuasion (my sister is very persuasive) she convinced him it would be a great idea.

My sister headed to Sear’s and found a great deal on paint and primer. Since both she and Dad are good at do-it-yourself projects, between them they have plenty of brushes, rollers, and anything else you might need to tackle any painting job. It took my sister, my brother-in-law, and my Dad a little less than two weekends of work to give the patio a great new look.

Dad is very happy with the results. And the cost? Under $60.00 for a whole new look for the patio. Sure, she could have gotten him a T-Shirt with “#1 Dad” printed on the front for far less, but for a room re-do this is a great deal. And plus, it’s just a really nice thing to do for somebody. I wanted to include the Before and After photos that my sister sent to me, but since I am a computer illiterate that is not going to happen. But take my word for it, the patio looks great !