My Dad, My Hero

I am a lucky girl.  Blessed, actually.  You might want to argue, but I have the best father a girl could ever ask for.  Here's just a few of the reasons why:

• He's my biggest fan - He lights up every time he sees me.  Literally.  No matter what I do, he's always there to cheer me on.  He makes me feel like the most special person in the world.  And he means it.  Like really means it.

• He loves my kids with everything he has -  It doesn't matter what is going on in his life or how he is feeling, my dad plays and interacts with my kids like it's the last day he'll ever spend with them.  I admire that so much about him.  He treats each moment with them as gift and he lives it to the fullest.  Actually, he did the same with me as a kid.  

• He's always there for me - It was school projects when I was in grade school.  In high school, he was my cheerleader when I was on the field cheering.  In college, he let me spread my wings as a foreign exchange student and later move across the country to grad school.  He's lent me money, given me gifts I can never repay, and been the rock that catches my fall.  I am a full grown woman now with a family of my own, and he's still around to take out my trash cans when my husband is away on business, change my lightbulbs, and cook me dinner when I need a "night off."  It doesn't matter what I need, my dad is always there at my every request.  I know I can always count on him, whether I ask or not.  

• He's created family traditions that will endure generations to come - My dad is so good, he doesn't even know it.  He has built tradition and legacy sub-consciously.  My family will forever be indebted to him for his "Baba-isms," Taco Tuesdays, famous popcorn, and "volcano talks."  He will always be remembered for the love he gives and gives and gives.  

Yeah, this is a love letter to my dad, the first amazing man in my life...and then I found my husband, who possesses all of these same qualities.  I guess it is no surprise that I married a man like my father in so many ways (of course, just different enough so things aren't weird!).  I guess I am doubly lucky and blessed.  And I know I am not the only one out there.

Here's to the fathers who give so tirelessly of themselves for their children; who love with everything they have and then some; who walk the Earth and back to make the world just a little bit better and more special for their family; who provide a haven for their children that no one can every take away; for making us feel like the most special people in the world that we actually believe it and go on to do amazing things that we never thought possible; for giving us gifts that we can never repay - like unconditional love and family values; for setting the bar for the stellar men that we will some day marry.

Here's to you, Daddy.  You are my hero.