"look Mom, matching shirts!"
Wanted to stop in today to wish all the dad's out there a Happy Father's Day- especially one in particular (mine.) Sometimes I think Father's Day day doesn't get the respect it deserves (I believe in Germany it's even combined with a church holiday) which is unfortunate. Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I've always had a very special connection with my dad. He taught me to tie my shoes, to fish, and to skin a deer (though I'll admit I haven't really needed to use that lesson.) He taught me the importance of manners (my parents never budged on the importance of yes ma'am/sir and no ma'am/sir which has served me very well in life,) how to paint my nails (he's left handed and therefore always had to adapt to a predominantly right handed world, so after watching me struggle with painting my left nails perfectly and then completely messing up when I tried to paint the right ones, he suggested painting my right nails first and then using my "still drying hand" to paint my left so I'd have a similar hindrance with both. Such a smart man and now it's the only way I can pull off my own manicure!) and how to drive (much to the chagrin of my mom who hates that I adopted my dad's lead foot and signature "one hand on the wheel, one hand on the stick shift"- esp given I drive an automatic and always have.) My dad's influenced my style (he has the confidence to rock everything from a cowboy hat and boots to a seersucker suit,) and he stressed the importance of enjoying life today because tomorrow is never guaranteed. (Case in point, he was the person who taught me that while it's bad for you, eggs always taste better cooked in bacon grease.)
While my dad and I definitely have different views on some things (I'm much more liberal than he is and despite both claiming Christianity as our religion, we have different ideas about what that actually means) he has always stressed the importance of being true to myself and following my heart, which is precisely why I think that's why we're such great friends. He encouraged me to think for myself, not to be discouraged if things don't always go the way you planned, and most importantly, that everything-absolutely everything- happens for a reason.
And when the day comes (hopefully not for a really really long time) when he is no longer just a phone call/plane ride away, I will always remember the lessons he taught me and the memories he gave me. The memories of us riding bikes to go get ice cream, of him letting my sister and I hang out of the sunroof while we drove around the neighborhood, of watching Willie Nelson in concert together, or of him walking me down the aisle into J's arms-those special memories will always hold a special place in my heart and I'll always be grateful to him for them.
Happy Father's Day, Dad. You rock.
This post is part of a promotion with FamilySearch.