These past two years as a father have taught me so much, but one thing I have really learned is how amazing my own father is. Today I would like to say thank you dad…
Thank you dad for always supporting my crazy ideas. Growing up I would always play restaurant in our basement. I would make a menu (usually consisting of spaghetti, bread and water) and make my dad eat it. He would humor me and sit while I took his order and made him dinner.
Now being a father, I hope that when my kids want to pretend they are doing anything I will be as willing as my dad was to participate and just enjoy the time we will spend together.
Thank you dad for disciplining me. Whenever I would do things that disappointed my dad I would get disciplined. I remember having to go in the basement and sit on a chair to think about the things that I had done wrong. Time and time again I would sit there and think about what I had done wrong. Yeah, a lot of the time I thought he was in the wrong, but I sat there and thought about the choices I had made. I feel like if weren’t for that time he disciplined me and made me realize I wasn’t making the best of choices I could have really turned out to be a complete mess.
As a parent I hate disciplining my child. It makes you feel like the worst person in the world, but I know that if you don’t do it then they will walk all over you. I’m glad that my dad taught me that he was the leader of the family and he knew what was best for me. I hope that I can teach my children those same principles.
Thank you dad for supporting me. Whether it was coming to my singing performances in high school or when I decided that I wanted to move to California to attend college, my dad always supported me. He was always there to cheer me on or pick me up when I felt like I had failed. I still remember when I said that I wanted to move back home because California wasn’t where I needed to be. My dad was the one to fly out, pack up the U-haul with me and drive through the Santa Ana winds, burning freeways and road closures. Seriously we were stuck in traffic for eight hours and our truck almost tipped over multiple times. I remember feeling like maybe I had made the wrong decision and this was a clear warning sign that moving back wasn’t what I should be doing. We got through it, talked about everything, laughed, listened to oldies radio and enjoyed every second we had together. My dad has always wanted the best for me and I am truly grateful for his constant love and support.
I hope that my children will know that I am always going to support them. Maybe I don’t know all the plays and positions in football, but I will be at every game cheering my son on. Maybe one of my kids will get accepted to Harvard and need to get all their stuff there before freshman orientation, I will be there to drive them across the country. If I can let me kids feel the love I know my dad has for me than I know I have done something right.
Thank you dad for all the great memories. Trips to Hawaii, cruises, Disneyland, Disney World, New York or fun road trips. All these times I remember like they were yesterday. My dad always wanted to make sure that no matter what we did, we did it together. It never mattered where we went, but all the memories that were made together. Like the time we drove back east and listened to Phantom of the Opera. I just sang at the top of my lungs and my dad would just turn up the music. I felt that it was because he wanted to make sure I could hear it better, but we all know it was so they didn’t have to hear me so much. Another time, my parents and I were in New York just following our Tom Tom GPS. We weren’t really watching where we were going when we flew down a hill and before you knew it, it was too late to read the sign: BUMP!!! We all flew out of our seats and who knows how we didn’t total that rental car. We laughed for hours, days even. Remembering how focused we were on the GPS and making sure we wouldn’t get lost.
I know that I am going to take plenty of fun and adventurous trips with my kids. Doesn’t matter where we go, as long as we are together. Nothing is more fun than family road trips and making those memories that will be engraved in their minds for eternity.
Thank you dad for, last but not least, loving me. One time I had really messed up and I remember my dad coming down to my room and said, “Look, it doesn’t matter what you did, you’re going to be okay and I will always love you.” I will never forget that moment. I stood there, hugged him and bawled my eyes out. My dad is a very reserved guy, but I always knew he loved me.
I will make sure that my children know, without a doubt, that I love them. I will always love them, no matter what they have done in their lives.
Thank you dad for everything. No dad is perfect, but my dad is perfect to me and I am grateful that he is my dad and the best example a dad could ask for.
