The Baby Boomer Turns 72…
And Baby Bear Hijacks His Blog!
Well! Well! Well! For the past 365 days, the Baby Boomer, has not so quietly, reminded his family, on a near daily basis, about the biggest day of the year: September 4th! And wouldn’t you know it, we have arrived, and not to fret, as much as the Baby Boomer thinks we may let the biggest day of the year slide by us, we have most certainly not forgotten that it is our Pooh/Daddy/Heathe/Gampy’s big day! But unlike what the Baby Boomer may think, we do not need to be reminded that the leader of our family is turning the big 72 today!
To you, he is the Baby Boomer, but to me, he is my Heathe, and that is how I will refer to him as I celebrate him throughout this blog post today!
You see, 72 years ago today, Heath Ford Clift entered this world, and we all know that infamous saying: “they broke the mold” and let me tell you, they absolutely broke the mold with him! There is NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, in this world quite like Heath Ford Clift and in most ways, that is a wonderful thing! Now, obviously, I have not had the pleasure of knowing Heathe for 72 years, but I feel immensely lucky that I have been able to call him Dad for 40 of those 72 years. Have we shared many, many wonderful times together? Absolutely without a doubt! Have we shared more than a few not so lovely times together? I do not think we would be human if we had not. No matter if the times have been good, or not so good, I have never once not known how lucky I am to be supported, loved, cheered on, guided, and adored by my Heathe.
Heathe shared his love of those wonderful 60’s hits, which he definitely passed on to me and you can find me jamming to in my car! La Bear isn’t always fond of riding in the car with Heathe and I as we love to listen to our 60’s and La Bear – not so much! I do have to say that one of the things I admire most about Heathe is his hard work mentality, his work ethic, and his brilliance. Oh yes – his brilliance, which I can assure you, he will remind me daily about mentioning that I admire his brilliance! We always turn to Heathe when it comes to assisting us in making those hard decisions, whether it be financial, career, or we just need someone to, for lack of a better term, be a bastard (in the most loving way!), Heathe is our man!
Unfortunately, Heathe also passed his worry gene on to me. And man oh man, do I worry! And man oh man, does Heathe worry! In my small defense, I do have to say that Heathe worries a touch more than I do, but if you put us together, not quite an awesome duo! We should probably listen to La Bear’s wise words, “Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but gets you nowhere!” True La Bear, very true!
Heathe also gave me my emotions. It does not take much to send Heathe and I into a puddle. We are EXTREMELY sentimental and I have to say that I have always been this way, but my sentimental side has shown through even more as I have become a mom and I have had the privilege of witnessing Heathe become a Gampy – perhaps my favorite role!
You see, on June 18, 2022, my husband, Ryan and I, welcomed the most perfect little boy, Miles Ford Strickler into the world. Yes, yes – you have heard about him before – our little Master M! Boy oh boy does he make our world go round and there is no one that little boy is more fond of than his Gampy and there is no one Gampy is more fond of than Master M!
Master M and I go to work together every morning where his Gampy scoops him up for a day of adventure! As much as Master M loves playing with his Tweed ladies, nothing, and I mean nothing, lights this boy’s world up more than seeing his Gampy pull up every morning. He cannot control his excitement and it takes everything in him to keep from busting out the front door! As soon as I get the door open for him, he immediately darts to Gampy’s car, I open the door, and Master M climbs in the front seat to bounce and push all of Gampy’s fun buttons! They get a few minutes together to play in the front seat before Master M scoots to his car seat in the back for the daily journey to The Compound.
Yesterday, Master M’s schedule changed significantly as he started his first day of pre-school. While Ryan and I waited in the car line to drop him off, we looked over and who did we see anxiously waiting to see their buddy stroll into their first day of school, but Gampy and La Bear! And who was standing outside of their car snapping pictures of their buddy, but Gampy himself. Yes, I am quite positive, seeing my Heathe be a Gampy makes me the most sentimental and warms my heart beyond any words can possibly describe. And, yes, I am typing this with tears in my eyes, and if I am a guessing woman, I can imagine that Gampy will have the same as he reads his hijacked birthday blog!
Now, let’s go back to the beginning of my blog, and remember how I mentioned that Heathe has been reminding us for 365 days about the big day arriving?! I failed to mention that part of that reminder has been a HUGE ask to have a MASSIVE birthday party with ALL of his friends! Well, Heathe, you and I both know, that we are not party people, and because I have had the pleasure of knowing you for 40 years, I am pretty sure the gift of my blog will touch you beyond what any party could.
We love you immensely. We are SO lucky you are ours AND we would be completely lost without you!
HAPPY 72ND BIRTHDAY, HEATHE!!
LUA,
BB