Happy 27th Birthday Jessica!

So today is my oldest daughter’s 27th birthday. I won’t go into a long write-up of the day she was born. I did that last year. But I have a few photos to share and a few comments below. Hope this is a much fun a day as we are planning for. The only thing I didn’t do was bake last night. As rotten as I felt, it was best that I didn’t bake.

Jessica with Dad in June at the 45th Anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa Haak.

Jessica and Victoria on the dock at Lake Metigoshe when it was still part of our church camp.

Jessica and Victoria sitting on the steps of our house in Jamestown.

Today I will share some other memories. I could say that I am sorry about forcing her to go to Jamestown College, but I won’t because I am not. I would like to publicly thank the woman who grumbled about giving us free ice cream at SDSU. See, Jess was bound and determined to go to SDSU after she had been the Girl’s Stater from Herreid. She wanted to go there with friends she met at Girls State.

The problem was that she thought she should double major in elementary education and communications, not really a good thought on such a large campus. Anyway, the day we went to do the visit, all the students received a packet with tickets for a free cone of the ice cream they make there. The woman working behind the counter didn’t understand, and grumbled the whole time she made the cones. I was mentally thanking her the whole way home.

I will grant that she would have gotten a great education, but if she thinks about it, I am not sure that she would have had the opportunity from SDSU that she did in interning for Senator Conrad, and I am not so sure she would have made the State Legislature as she has from Jamestown. Besides which state is in the better financial situation right now?

I know that Jamestown wasn’t always the most advanced in certain things, but Jess, would you have been able to take the school paper of any other school from near bankruptcy to a thriving entity? What about those crazy trips that you lied to me about? Going through O’Hare airport when I thought you were safely in St. Louis, and then to be there on the night when they won the World Series. I was scared to death they would find you in an alley the next day, and we wouldn’t know where to claim you.

I think that maybe you did all the things Victoria talked about in her Valedictorian speech. You lived in a major city and came home. In fact if you count the internship, you did it twice.

I love the fact that you have decided to make ending poverty your theme, your mission. Just know that it won’t be easy. Those rich people who have stuff don’t like it that the poor would like food and shelter. Also never forget from whence you came. We are a common people, which is not to be confused with simple.

Now above all, I would remind you to take with you the Creator God, who sent an only begotten Son, who died that we too may inherit the kingdom and That They May All Be One!!

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