My sister and I were trying to come up with a fun idea for a blog post for Father's Day. We thought it might be interesting if we go a different route than our usual and get a bit more personal. We decided to tell you a bit about our Dad, the man behind the oil, Perry Rea. 

OUR DAD: THE MAN BEHIND THE OIL

I know to all of you, he just seems like some Olive Oil Extraordinaire, who also happens to be a culinary genius, but to us...he's dear ol' Dad. Growing up we were lucky enough to be blessed with at least two gourmet meals a day. Not knowing that most of our friends at school were not waking up to fried egg sandwiches on homemade bread (shout out to Mom for the bread), or egg frittatas before 6:45 am. But for us this was normal. For dinner, we would have pasta...always pasta. Running out the door to soccer practice, and usually when we got home from practice too. Dad even invented the spaghetti sandwich...that's fresh spaghetti with red sauce stuffed between two slices of our Mom's bread. You see, Perry...being the Italian Stallion he is...was always able to express his love for us best through his food. 

Now if there is one thing you should know about our Father (other than the fact that he is a beast in the kitchen) it's that he is LOUD. Notoriously known for his volume and his lack of filter...he can be quite entertaining but truly, he means no harm. Along with his booming personality...it doesn't take much to make him tick (but he's Italian so what do you expect). This honestly just depends on the time, day of the week, and how long ago he has eaten. I remember one time in middle school, I just made a new friend. Now my parents always encouraged us to wear helmets, but it was never a THING (or so I thought).  As a 6th grade girl, casually riding a razor scooter...I saw it unnecessary on this particular day. But unfortunately for me, Perry had not eaten in a few hours so the temper fuse was very touchy. I rode up on my razor, with my new friend, and he was doing work in the garage. Honestly, you would have thought I just committed an armed robbery with his reaction to my no helmet wearing razor riding. But this is just classic, and everyone knows, that's just our Dad.

Perry also has quite the green thumb. I have definitely noticed more of his garden attentiveness now that all of his children are out of the house. I think he is actually replacing his human children with his plant children. But WOW, this man has a gift. He can grow anything, and he can grow it well. From lettuce, kale, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, eggplants, chard, and tons more...his garden has no limits. The best part about this is that there is no way he and my mother can physically eat all of his produce, so all of his children (and our friends) reap the benefits. Sunday family dinners are always inspired by what is ripe out there, and he has taught us the importance of using fresh, organic, homegrown produce in our cooking. This man spreads his love through great food, and we can't complain about that.

Make no mistake he is tough, and claims to be a four sport Varsity athlete, but he does have a sweet side. I mean he is the father to five children, three of those being girls, so he's got to have a soft side. Perry melts at the sight of babies. He does...he loses his mind and talks baby talk to no end. Even people who know him sometimes find this hard to believe, but once you see it in person, it seems like the most natural thing in the world. He also has this adorable habit of walking any of his three grown daughters to our cars after nightfall. Even when we are just leaving our parent's house after Sunday family dinner, he will NEVER let us leave the house alone. It's the cutest. Our Dad also loses his Italian street cred when it comes to our Mom. He is the most romantic guy I know, and he is never afraid to shower our mother with any type of love he can (which usually tends to be food...but there are also copious amounts of flowers and dark chocolate around their house on any given day of the week). He adores her, and now that we are older, it's something we all truly appreciate. 

This man, our Dad, has given us everything we have ever needed. He's always been there for us, has always supported us and has shown us the meaning of family. He is the hardest-working man we know , and somehow is able to get his five adult children back to his house every Sunday night for family dinner. We love you Dad, thanks for being you. 

How are you appreciating Dad this Father's Day? Let us know in the comments below!

#PerrysPlayin