my dad

In the past few months I have had many opportunities to think about my dad and to reflect on the fact that I am lucky to still have him in my life. I have written about most of the rest of my family - my mom, my sisters, my grandparents - on this blog, but my dad has been absent from most posts. This has not been intentional, but it has been unfortunate when I reflect on it now. I still have my dad around and in my life regularly, but I know far too many people who do not, and I do not want to take that for granted.

My dad is a man who works hard to provide for his family. I have always admired that in him. And yet, as a little kid, I still remember the excitement my sisters and I had when he came home from work each day. We would run to greet him and he would quickly have his arms full of three kids. I do not know if that was the best part of the day for him, but it was for us.

Involvement at church was always modelled as important. My dad has always been involved in something at church. And I grew up feeling that it was something that was an important part of life, because my dad made it a priority in his life.

Growing up, life included a never-ending series of water fights and throwing nerf balls or other stuffed toys around. The right comment at the right time would bring laughter and something thrown. Or in the midst of a water fight, a bucket of water dumped on my head.

I guess I sometimes find it so easy to forget about all these good things about my dad, because we do not always get along well. We have our differences and they have ended in fights more than they should have. And then I do forget about the good stuff. It seems easier to focus on the bad stuff in relationships, but the last few months on many opportunities I have been reminded of how lucky I am to have the dad I do.

I know that my dad does not read this blog, and will probably never know what I have written here unless I show it to him, and maybe I will one day. I am proud to call my dad, my dad. And, even in the times when we are not getting along I would not change having him as my dad for anything. I know that when it gets down to it, he will be there when I need him, no matter what, and I know that he loves me. I could not ask for more.