My Dad

Day 24

How do I even attempt to talk about my dad?  Not easy but I am going to give it a whirl..............

My dad.

He is 6'5", has very little hair, and the kindest eyes I have ever seen.

My dad is a funny man. He tells a good story and even better joke. What makes his jokes so great is the laughing he does while telling it. It is contagious. Sometimes he can barely get the joke out because he is laughing so hard.

He thinks he is funnier than anyone else. He gets a real kick out of himself. Which, I have to say, makes me laugh more than the jokes.

My dad is a warm man. People are drawn to his sincere ability to be honest. He is who he is...what you see is what you get. He says what he means, you don't have to do any guessing. I believe we all need more of that.
People are always calling my dad for support and words of wisdom. I use to get annoyed or frustrated by this when I was younger. I wanted him all to myself. Now, I see how wise he really is. I admire his willingness to be of service and am learning by his example. Plus, he is my dad......always.

My father is a one of a kind. He has been called the ideal dad. I have had many people, friends, that haven't been as fortunate as me in this department, tell me that when they wished for a dad.....they wished he would be just like mine. The thing is, it's for real. He really is that great. Always has been. 

Growing up he was the young cool dad. As a parent now myself, I am amazed how he was able to pull off young cool dad and still demand complete respect without ever having to ask for it. It was just unspoken. Because of who he was, his presence, all my friends.....all kids......all people in general.....respected my father.

I always had an.earlier curfew than my friends. I has a lot less freedom and a lot more "family time" than most of my friends. I always thought my friends would jump on my band wagon and roll their eyes about my parents "ridiculous" rules. I, for one, thought they were over protective and stifling for that matter. But my friends would ,not only pass on the bad mouthing of my dad, they would defend him and tell me how lucky I was too have him.

To be honest, I don't know what I would have done if they did roll their eyes or bad mouth either of my parents. I was just being a bratty kid. I knew I was lucky. I knew I had it good, really good.

Most of all.....I knew I was loved.

Growing up our family had our share of......shit. Don't we all? It is part of growing up. When I look back, what I remember most about my dad, above all else......even through all the not so fun stuff, is that with my dad I always felt safe, comforted, secure, and I always felt loved.

My dad has a tremendous faith. The kind of faith that seriously can move mountains.

I've seen it happen.

That is probably my biggest blessing that he has passed down to me.....his relationship with God. It has given me the freedom to make that journey on my own and always know I had a place to come home to when I needed it.

Watching my dad become a grandfather, who is now called Pappy, has been a gift. Seeing him make my girls laugh, talk about his faith, get down and play on the floor with them, make them laugh some more, and what really gets me....has made me secretly (and not so secretly at times) cry ...is when I see him hold them. I know that when my girls are in his arms they are feeling exactly what I did as a kid, what I can still feel today when I am in one of his big hugs, that all is well. That they are perfectly perfect in that very moment. That nothing can hurt them.

That they, above all else, are loved.

I love my dad.

I feel so incredibly fortunate, blessed and grateful he is my dad and my girls Pappy.

Happy Father's Day!!