My Dad

My Dad is a little bit strange. He is a banker and is so cheap he doesn't buy garbage bags, opting instead to REUSE (eww, I know) paper sacks that he empties into his larger garbage can. He buys clothes but won't wear them for months, sometimes years after he's bought them. He eats oatmeal for breakfast and turkey sandwich for lunch about 360 days out of the year. His undiagnosed OCD has him check that the door is locked and the stove is turned off at least three times before he leaves the house. He has a contagious laugh, once he starts he can't stop, and can take a joke. He has beautiful eyes (that I did not get) and a very tender soul (that I did get). But the best thing about my Dad is he shows up for his kids, over and over.

When I was little it was coaching my soccer team, and a few years later he never missed a basketball game. He would wake up at five in the morning, start the car to warm it up and then wake me up to get me to practice on time. I would sit in his car with a blanket wrapped around me and (I'm sure) a very sullen tween attitude and a smart mouth while he drove me 25 minutes round trip out of his way, to practice every morning. He paid for my year abroad, private school and any extra activity I could think of (probably by returning the clothes he hadn't worn) without complaint. He would let me talk about my problems, marveling over the teenagers love logic, but never told me what to do. When I couldn't clean out an apartment, he did it... and then drove my stuff 1000 miles to my new home. He cried at my wedding, and came out to visit whenever the Hubs was gone and I needed some company.

This is not to say he's perfect, he made mistakes and I was a tough kid. But he taught me to own up, take accountability for your actions and learn your lesson. Now that I am raising my own strong willed and free spirited daughter I see how hard it is to balance her need for independence without squishing her spirit. Despite all the times I huffed and puffed, rolled my eyes and slammed my door he still told me he loved me... as he took the door off the hinges. So Happy Fathers Day Dad. Thanks for showing up (over and over and over again) and sticking it out with me. You deserve a gold watch or something! But I'm not going to get it for you... I was raised by a banker and am way too cheap for that.