Where Would We Be Without Dear Old Dad?

My favorite Dad story happened my first year of college.

After driving a truck all night, my dad rolled into the house in the morning, only to be told he had to go to my school. Not only that, he had to learn a dance and perform it with me at the football halftime show. Did he complain or go to bed? Nope. He got back into the car and we headed over to my school.

Fueled by a large cup of black coffee, my dad spent the morning with me, the gals on the dance team, and their dads. We taught our dads the dance and they laughed at themselves as they tried to perform them. Then we spent the entire afternoon with our family at the game- even my grandma was there.

Halftime came and we danced our tails off for a stadium full of people. All of the dads were good sports, but I was especially proud of my dad. You see, I hadn’t really expected him to be able to go. I never would have begged him to please not let me be the only girl there without her dad. I knew he really needed to sleep and I respected that fact.

It was my dad who insisted on being there for me and no one ever would have guessed he had been up working all night. And that is a memory of my dad I will cherish forever.

That’s just my dad. He has always been there for me, no matter how tired he may be from working to support his family.

Because of work he may not make it to every event in which I participate, but I know that he’ll be there for the important things. For instance, when my second son, Samuel, was born, it was my dad who shoveled waist-high snow off of his driveway so he could bring my older son, Lucas, home to be with me and baby Sammy. That is another picture I’ll never forget- my dad slumped in the armchair after 12 hours of shoveling snow (with a torn rotator cuff), after the blizzard of 2011.

That is how fathers show their love. Moms may be overprotective or doting, but dads have a quiet way of doing what you need most right when you need it. Thankfully my dad has switched careers since then, so no more long nights driving. He can relax and even go fishing once in a while. But I remember that he sacrificed years of sleep in order to take care of a wife and three children. We truly had a wonderful life because of his and my mother’s sacrifices. Now that I’m a parent, I know how hard it must have been on them to work so hard every day, but they never complained because they loved us, and they always wanted what was best for our family.

So this father’s day, like any other day, remember to tell your dad thanks for being there for you. It may have been more work than you realize.