my dad is awesomesauce
The great thing about blogging is you can write sentimental posts for people in lieu of gifts ~ j/k, I took my dad out to dinner as his father’s day gift last time we visited. On mother’s day, I posted a tribute I’d written for my mom several years back so for father’s day, I wanted to resurrect this post I wrote last year. It’s a list of reasons why I’m grateful for both my parents, but I still found it applicable as a tribute to my dad!
1. they taught me i could be anything, do anything, have anything i wanted. i don’t remember anything ever being too crazy, too ambitious too … whatever.  i always had (and still have) a strongly-held belief that i could accomplish what i set my mind to, thanks to the encouragement of my parents.
and they went beyond just telling me i could do something. when i played sports, i don’t think my mom ever missed a game (and my dad was always there if he was in town). when i was a cheerleader my mom learned the cheers. whether i was competing in piano guilds or pageants, they were driving me, practicing with me, giving me the tools i needed so i COULD actually accomplish anything. (and, looking back, i accomplished a lot for a kid!) this type of support was especially impressive considering my dad was gone probably an average of 25-40% of my childhood … yet i never felt like he wasn’t there for the things that mattered.
2. they taught me i should love what i do. i think i underestimate this one because i take it for granted that everyone loves what they do. my dad has been in the air force for over 30 years ~ it’s been good to him but he has given his blood, sweat and tears to his job … because he genuinely enjoys it (at least that’s the impression i get :-)). he could make MUCH more on the “outside,” but that doesn’t matter because he believes in his work. i haven’t found something i can attack with that voracity yet, but i believe it’s out there and that i WILL find it!
3. they fostered self-discipline. initially i was going to say “they TAUGHT me self-discipline,” but i think i was born with an alarm set to 6 a.m., a nose stuck in a book, and a fully scheduled calendar in my hand. i alluded to this above, but i remember my schedule as a kid being filled up just about every minute of every day. i’m sure this was a ploy to provide me with less opportunity to get into trouble, but it also taught me commitment, involvement, follow-through ~ all pieces of self-discipline. when i stopped liking piano after five years, they insisted i take lessons (and practice practice PRACTICE) for several more years anyway. when i decided i wanted to work in TV, they set up an internship at a local station through my high school (i was 15). when i headed up the prom committee, the yearbook committee and the school newspaper, they kept me on-task.
some of these things are things you hate your parents for when you’re a kid. piano became SO uncool, and my mom trudging onto my campus to talk to my principal about an internship was uber-lame. but they’re the things that stand out in your mind as an adult ~ so thanks. (in fact, i wish they’d made me take MORE piano lessons …)
4. they taught me the importance of giving back. my parents were “those people.” i have no idea how they did it, seeing as how we moved every two years, and how my dad worked crazy hours and traveled all the time, but they were the most involved people wherever we went. they led and hosted bible studies pretty much EVERY place we lived. were elders in our various churches. provided carpools for the youth group. tutored under-privileged inner-city kids. volunteered in our schools, at our churches, and on the bases where my dad was stationed. as a result, it never once crossed my mind that community involvement was really an option - it was just something you did.
5. they support me. i’m sure most people would say this about their parents, but i feel that my parents’ support has gone above and beyond. they put me through college, helped us put a downpayment on our first investment property, helped me start one of mybusinesses (which, although coming along slowly is, yes, still being worked on!), but i’m not just talking about financial backing, either. nothing that i do or say (ok, nothing i’ve done or said SO FAR) throws them off ~ my crazy isn’t too crazy for them. i’m sure they don’t always LOVE the directions in which i head, but they’ve never made me doubt that they are on my team 110%.
6. they are my haven. i’d be remiss if i didn’t lump my sister into this one, too ~ my family is my shelter in the storm. that’s not to say that we all get along all the time, or that we all agree on everything. (ha! we are four independent, strong, stubborn, opinionated people - there are LOTS of things we don’t agree on!) it IS to say that my family GETS me. if i create a pseudo-couture dress out of packing paper, they think it’s hilarious. if i choreograph a routine to some broadway musical, they join me. if i want to dive into the costume closet we had as kids and play dressup, they’re ready for a photoshoot (ok, mostly just my sister on that one). we just … click. which is good, because they’re my family and i’m stuck with them.
you know the saying - you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family? funny thing is, if i COULD choose my family, i wouldn’t change a thing!
June 20 2010 11:51 am | family and military and parents