My Epic Dad

For a day that we are supposed to remember our fathers, I would like to write a blog about the man who brought me into this world. Since I was a child my Dad told a story about my birth, where he held my little purple body when I was born and the joy that he felt looking into my new eyes. There I was gazing on the man who would be the first and probably most important man of my life.

Carpooling to school every morning as a child, my Dad would sing to us. He had a special song for buckling our seat belts, and he often made up words to oldies that I thought at the time were his original creations. As I entered puberty, and still my Father would drive us to school every morning through traffic across the City of Seattle to Capitol Hill, I became embarrassed by his songs as my friends and I would share the mutual opinion that my Dad was a goof ball.

Even though I was a girl, it was the late eighties and early nineties, and my Dad, having two daughters, still thought it a valuable father daughter tradition to play catch in the yard. Television was not a highly accepted practice in our house, but in the basement my Dad would spend an afternoon or evening watching MASH, Star Trek or the Mariners game, and because TV was a special event I would sit down and enjoy spending a half hour or so watching one of these shows with him. To this day I value his taste, as I am a Trekkie fan and adore the show MASH. Ball games always hold a flavor of nostalgia as I notice the relaxing sound of the ball game on the television.

When I was a pot smoking teenager learning the ways of the world, I bought a ticket to a Phish show with my friends. My Dad wanted to be educated about the world I was into and purchased a ticket to the show himself and went to the show, not at my side, but independently, so he could better understand me. He has always had a loving way of participating in my life. He took us to school and his office and fed us dinner though culinarily challenged while my mom was on her trips as a flight attendant all throughout my childhood. He attended all of my soccer games, lavished me in love and praise while valuing my sense of humor, intelligence, creativity, and independence.

Today my Dad has a new found sense of dedication to my sister and I. He feels all his extra time and energy should be spent helping us out in any way he can. He gifted Steve and I a truck for our taco business and is aiding my sister in starting her dream of a goat dairy on his farm. I have never felt discouraged or criticized by my Father; I love him and always have with all of my heart. I am so grateful to have journeyed this life with him always sheltering me in a loving and supporting way, and am ever so appreciative to live close to my Dad at this point in my life. He is my friend, and such a close and special one at that.

So this post is for my Dad, and Dad, as you read this I hope you know you have done nothing but succeed in supporting me along the way, loving me and being a wise and true companion in my life. Thank you for being you in all that you do, I love you and cherish our time and moments together through all of life’s passages. You are awesome, and you continue in being the laid back and understanding Dad full of humor as you carry an intelligent sense of what is truly important in life. You have helped me become the person that I am today; I am proud to be your daughter and proud to be your friend.