Today is Father’s Day. For me, Father’s Day sort of falls into the same category as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. They are nice and they celebrate special people in your life. No harm in that; none at all. However, I’ve always felt we shouldn’t need a special day to celebrate the people we love…it should be something we choose to do every day. That being said, today I celebrate the first man in my life. The man who I love, respect, and am so grateful for…my dad.
There is a lot I can say about my dad. He is kind, generous, loving, and supportive. He’s also stubborn, impatient (especially when driving), reserved, and shy. He has high expectations of himself and of others. He’s smart and can do maths in his head in a way that makes me envious and upset that I apparently got my mother’s maths skills (or lack there of).
He’s a great father. Always there and always available even from many miles away. Yes, he expected us to behave, get good grades, and be good people. He still expects that of us but has never turned his back on any of us kids when we went a bit astray, shut him out, or were less than good people. Those high expectations were sometimes daunting and restrictive in our eyes (I’m speaking for my siblings without their input here) but, as I get older, I see two things about those expectations. They were things to strive for to make us better people and to have happy lives. He’s never wanted for any of us to be sad or wanting for the basics in life.
The second thing I see about those expectations is that he has the same ones for himself. He has always been a ‘practice what you preach’ kind of guy. You’ll never see my father be rude or cruel to another person. He’s not the most sociable of people because he’s shy and he doesn’t do crowds well. Yet, he’s probably one of the kindest and most giving people you’ll meet. He cares about others and doesn’t like to see suffering. He always says that if he won the lottery he’d give the majority of it away to people who need it and that’s not just talk. I believe he’d do it…quietly and without a fuss because he’s also the kind of person who will not toot his own horn or draw attention to his accomplishments.
I think the most incredible thing about my father is the fact that while he was a great father, he’s an even better grandfather. He’s been a part of my daughter’s life from, literally, Day One. Today, I was looking at photos my stepmom took when Blonde Child was little and you can see the absolute love between her and her grandfather. My dad and stepmom have always been a huge presence in my daughter’s life. The two constants even in times of domestic turmoil. I think so many of her best childhood memories involve the time she spent with her grandparents. I’m pretty sure my older nieces will say the same.
Because I know my dad will probably hate me going on about him, I’ll finish here. Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I love you today and every day.
On My Mind 