My 4th birthday.

One of my earliest memories.

Dad took me to the Chuck E Cheese in Rockford, Illinois. “Just for a little while.”

I remember his happy whistle in the foyer of the plaza.

I twirled as the sound reverberated off of the brown 6 x 6 inch tile floor and the floor to ceiling glass windows.

My dad whistled when he was the happiest, and he was whistling loudly that day.

I remember being excited and feeling lucky about our special trip on my birthday.

I know that Dad was happy to spend time with me but I knew that he was whistling because my baby brother Markie was born just the day before.

We were stopping by Chuck E Cheese for just a little while because he was on his way to the hospital to visit.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago what my favorite childhood memory was.

“Anytime my dad was whistling.”

It also happens to be one of my first memories.