Happy Retirement to "Gra"

Pardon the non-Olivia post, but I just wanted to take a minute to gush about my sweet daddy who just retired from an amazing 33 year career with ExxonMobil.  Long before the phrase “work-life balance” was a part of my vocabulary, my dad was showing my sisters and me the balancing act every day.  He would drive 45 minutes to and from work, put in a grueling day at the office, and then come home and jump into helping with dinner, homework, and extra-curricular activities.  He was a chauffeur, a teacher, a counselor, an arbitrator, and, to this day, our biggest fan.  When I graduated from law school, my parents hosted a small dinner party for me and some of my friends.  My dad, with tears in his eyes, gave a toast expressing his pride in my accomplishments and his hope that I got as much joy and fulfillment from my career as he got from his.  That was a really touching moment for me and it signified a change in the relationship between my dad and I.  While we may not have bonded over dance recitals, make-up, boyfriends, and prom dresses, my dad did understand careers, office politics, bosses, raises, evaluations, and work stress.  And over the past 8 years, I have loved sharing all the ups and downs of my career with him and knowing he felt each disappointment as strongly as I did, and celebrated each victory as if I had just been named to the Supreme Court!  I am so proud the example he set for me and when I struggle with my own work-life balance issues (which is usually on a daily basis!), the one truth that brings me the most comfort is knowing that I am better for seeing my dad try to balance it all and hopefully the same will be true for Olivia.  Congratulations daddy and we hope you enjoy retirement!

Here are the proud sisters with their wonderful dad!

And the whole family!