There is nothing quite like a girl's relationship with her father. It is, I think, mutually reverential and awe-inspiring. Fathers and daughters take turns watching each other with wonder and admiration. They are equally amazed at the other's strength and probably equally befuddled at times at each other's way of thinking. I know that I have grown up watching my father become the man he is today. I have gone from looking up at him, to looking up to him. I have gone from just having his eyes, to seeing the world differently because he taught me what to look for. I cannot imagine who I would be today without my father.
My dad made me want to be stronger, tougher and braver than anyone else and he made me believe I am. He told me that you have to work hard, and then he showed me what hard work really means. Because of his lessons, I always thought working hard meant working as hard as you possibly can while making it seem like an absolute pleasure. Because of my dad I believe that challenges are something to meet with excitement and confidence. He taught me to enjoy work; that work is, and should be, a part of a balanced life. He also showed me that work isn't always something you get paid for. He spends countless hours toiling and tinkering on an endless list of "challenges" for me and my sisters and his mom and his sisters and his neighbors and his employees, etc. The man stays BUSY helping people. He gives and gives and gives of his time, his talents and his energy, which even after 58 years, still seems boundless.
My dad also showed me that you can fix almost anything. Because of my dad, I have little doubt about my ability to do anything I put my mind to. I don't think my dad has ever faced a problem that he couldn't tackle. All my life he has been a carpenter, a plumber, an hvac guru, an engineer, a manager and a mechanic. He has also been a pony, a shoulder to ride on or cry on, a basketball coach, a swimming and diving instructor, a willing audience for countless homespun productions, and one first class swing pusher. I do not know anyone busier or harder working than my dad and that makes me so proud. I want to be just like him.
Thank you Dad, for being YOU.
My dad is also an amazing grandfather. He came here this weekend and spent some pretty magical moments with Aurelia. I love that he takes so much joy in the little things. She is so lucky to have such an awesome grandfather! Here is a video of dad feeding Aurelia. Priceless. . .
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHoney
How does one repond after reading the above. My girls make me proud in so many ways. Each one with their attributes that make me glow. Knowing they have exceeded my expectations by far. So fortunate they are so loving and forgiving of my numerous flaws. I realize each has grown from girls to mature women, becoming mothers and mothering. Seeing the grandgirls being raised with love, nurture, guidance and instruction by all three daughters gives me such comfort. Today, and forever my heart is warmed by thoughts of you.
ReplyDeleteFor further proof of the lessons I have learned from my dad, I fixed our leaking bathroom faucet today. The tub in our blue guest bathroom has been dripping for weeks. I knew I could fix it, I just needed Jonathan to be home so that we could shut off the main water supply and I could run to the specialty plumbing store which is only open 8-5. Turns out it took a while to make that happen. Fortunately, when I finally got a good look at the problem, we didn't need to go to the specialty plumbing store after all.
ReplyDeleteThe entire job required 2 calls to dad, 2 trips to Lowes, $36 in tools and $1.36 in parts to fix what a plumber would have charged me a couple hundred bucks to fix. Thank you Dad for your help and for giving me the confidence from the beginning that this was a project I could tackle!