My dad had somewhat of an unpleasant upbringing. His mom died when he was a teenager, his dad
drank a lot and he had no siblings to lean on for support. Fortunately, he met
my mom at a young age. That was one bright
spot in the midst of a difficult childhood.
When he grew up and had kids of his own, he made up for what
he didn’t have as a child. Or, that’s
how I see it, anyway. Not having much of
a family network as a kid, he, with my mom, built a very strong support system
for my brother and me. He was always
there for us. He always put us first.
He now has two grown kids, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law,
five grandsons and is still married to my mom.
He puts the well being of those ten people before his own. He has always put the needs of his family
first. The fact that the family has
continued to grow through the years hasn’t changed this fact.
Even though I’m now pushing 40, I still lean very heavily on
my dad – particularly given the fact that my husband travels so much for work. He helps to cart my kids around when I am in a
bind. He comes over to throw salt down
on the icy driveway when my husband is away.
When my mom makes extra food, he always brings us the leftovers so that
I can take a night off from cooking. He
runs to the store for me when I realize, mid-recipe and covered in flour, that
I have no vanilla extract in the house.
More importantly, my dad gives me emotional support. When I
feel a panic attack coming on, he is my first phone call. He knows how to calm me down better than
anyone else. That is why he is listed
first in my “favorites” in my cell address book (sorry hubs, but you hold the
number two spot).
He’s not just a great dad, he’s a great grandpa (not a great
grandpa as in his grandkids have kids; a great grandpa as in an awesome
grandpa). My boys absolutely love
him. My 7-year old even thinks of him
his best friend.
My dad brings them goodie bags when they’re sick. He goes to
just about all of their sporting events (between soccer, baseball, basketball
and taekwondo, we have a TON of sporting events in our family). He is always looking for an excuse to come
over and spend time with the boys. He
frequently takes them out for breakfast before school. He always calls them before an important
event to wish them luck AND after to see how they made out. He gets them fresh strawberries from their
favorite fruit stand. He gets down on
their level and plays with them. Given all that, it’s really no surprise they
love hanging with grandpa so much!
Because my dad plays a very active role in my family’s
lives, most of my friends know and think very highly of him. I can’t tell you how many times someone has
said to me something along the lines of, “your dad is the best grandpa,” or
“your dad is such a nice man,” or “your dad is so helpful.” I hear comments
like that all the time. Whey my dad had
four eye surgeries (yes four) last summer, so many of my friends called and
emailed me to see how he was doing. Even
now, almost a year later, I still get regular inquiries into the health
of my dad’s eyes.
We are very grateful for my dad. His childhood may have been less than
perfect, but he is the perfect father figure for my family.
It should be noted
that I also have an amazing mother. But
this isn’t about mom. It’s about dad. It
is Father’s Day, after all.
You can read more from Steph at her blog, The Healthy Mom and on Britely.
You can read more from Steph at her blog, The Healthy Mom and on Britely.
