Father of the Year

Today is Paige's 17th birthday. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Mark and I went to Grand Rapids for the weekend, knowing it was Judy's due date, just to hang out and see what, if anything would happen. As luck would have it, she went into labor and we spent the day at the hospital with she and Denni awaiting the birth. They had not yet found out if the baby was a boy or girl. When the hard labor began, Mark and I waited outside the delivery room for the news. I will never forget the moment Denni came into the hallway, fell into my arms sobbing tears of joy, and said "it's a girl". Until Julia's birth, certainly the happiest day of my life, and by far his. I told Paige this story back and in June, and promised her I would continue telling her for the rest of her life. Never a day should go by when she should wonder how much her father loved her.

Episode Note: "Father of the Year" Marcia has decided to enter a newspaper essay contest on why Mike deserves to be Father of the Year. The only problem is, she wants to keep her entry top secret. This leads to a number of misunderstandings between she and Mike up to and including her sneaking out the house at night (out her bedroom window, no less) to mail her entry to beat the deadline. When she is discovered, and is unwilling to explain why she is out, Mike is a total hard-ass and grounds her. We see the first of many Marcia sob-fests (that Maureen McCormick, what an actress) and it is not until Mike is presented with the Father of the Year plaque that all is revealed and forgiven. Mike has egg on his face and love in his heart for his for three favorite daughters: Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.