To My Father

As father's day approaches, I can't help but to think of how lucky I am to have had a father like I do.  So this blog is to my hero, my dad.

Dad,

As a little girl, I always looked at you as if you were a super hero.  You aren't a big guy physically but your presence has always been huge.  You were always a master of so much!  If I fell and scraped my knee, you were there with calming words and a bandaid to make it all better.  If my dolls arm broke off, you would perform "surgery" in the garage and like magic..she would be healed.  You built things and repaired everything and it amazed me. You were strong but loving, stern but kind.

As the years went by and my teenage years emerged, you were left to raise two girls on your own.  How you did it, I still do not know!! You worked hard, the overnight shift and still somehow found a way to feed us healthy dinners every night.  I went through a horrible rebellious stage and somehow you survived it.  No longer were you fixing my dolls, or bandaging my cut knees..you were fixing broken hearts and dealing with teenage drama.  Still, you got me through.

At the age of 21 I came to you and announced that I was pregnant.  I was in college but fell in love with a man that you did not like.  Yes, come to find out you were right as usual but I was young, naive and thought I had all the answers.  You looked at me with tears in your eyes.  I never saw my dad cry and it killed me inside.  It took you a little while but you came through as usual with support and love.  After Michael's birth, when things were going horribly wrong in my relationship.  I called the one man in the world I could always count on.  I know it couldn't have been easy but you opened up your heart and home to me and my baby.  I was back home, safe and in the loving environment I grew up in.

Now I began working full time and you stepped in and picked up Michael from day care every day.  I could never, ever have done it without you.  You were not only a grandfather to Michael but a father figure.  I could never, ever pick a better role model for my son than you.  As Michael grew up you gave him all the love and guidance that you always gave me.  You never missed a baseball game and was there through it all.

Before we knew it, Michael became a teenager.  Rebellious just as I was.  There were car accidents, fights, problems in school and you were always there.  You were there not only for him but for me when I didn't know if I was strong enough to get through it. 

Now Michael is 18.  He is an adult.  He is making mistakes but just as I did, I have faith that all the guidance, love and support he has gotten from you and all that I have instilled in him (which was learned from you) in the long run he will be ok.

Dad, I could never, ever express in words how grateful and blessed I feel to have you as my father.  To me, you are still a super hero.  I don't know what I would have done without you.  I want to thank you for all you have given me, shown me and taught me throughout the years.  Happy Father's Day dad and from the bottom of my heart...thank you.