Dan from the Perspective of his Daughter, Alison

Who is Dan?

Let me try my best to describe my dad. It won’t be easy, because usually the strongest feelings are the hardest to explain. First, it’s important to mention that he was raised by two incredible parents who created an environment of love, laughter, and support throughout his childhood. This, no-doubt, had a major impact on the man he is today. Also, in the smartest decision he has made to this day, he married my Mom, Michele. It’s no surprise they had 5 kids within 8 years- Heather, Stacy, Jeffrey, Alison, and Kristy- and have been blessed with 12 grandchildren. Nikole, Kendall, Christian, Andrew, Sean, Chad, Austin, Aubrey, Liam, Juliana, Benjamin, and Amelia are lucky to call him Papa.

My dad is faithful, generous, fun to be around, supportive, and loving. I could probably think of 20 more words. He loves to joke and laugh, but also can be serious and sentimental more than any man I’ve ever met. He is the type of man friends and family can count on. He is always happy to go out of his way to be a blessing to others. In our family, we joke a lot about “Dad’s schedule”. As you can read in some of his posts, he’s not the most patient person on the planet…but one of my favorite things about him is that he is self-aware. He knows his strengths (leadership, reliability etc…) and his weaknesses (like patience) and tries his best to improve. Something we could all learn from.

Faith, Family Fitness- the Triangle of Life.

Dan’s Christian faith is in the center of everything he does. Faith is the first, and most important leg of his “Triangle of Life”. The second leg is Family. Family is the center of his world. From his parents and siblings to his wife, children and grandchildren, his family takes a top priority. Over the past few years, Dan has had multiple near-death experiences- Heart surgery, mountain bike accident, getting hit by a car on his road bike, and many other “small” cycling accidents. With each accident he has gained more and more gratitude for life and family. Although we have tried to throw his bike out many times, we all know deep down that it will never happen. Fitness is the third leg of the triangle of life, after all- and cycling is his preferred method.

What is Positive Post Sunday?

One day, for Lent, he made a single post that read “I’m starting a Sunday tradition of posting a positive message each week”. His plan was to write a positive message each Sunday just for the length of Lent. When Lent was over, he wasn’t ready to stop so he kept it going. Now, about 7 years later, not a single Sunday has been missed of his positive posts. Many people look forward to seeing what he has to say each week and his messages of positivity and gratitude have inspired us all. What better way to start each week than to gain some perspective and reflect on how blessed we all are? I am so proud to call Dan my dad. Here’s to many more years of positive posts each Sunday.