Some Lessons from my Dad, for Father's Day

So, it being Father's Day I have decided to share a few of the important lessons that I learned growing up as his daughter.  The most important at this point being,(seeing as that the day is half way over), "Better late, than never".  My dad had a very active career in the Coast Guard, and as such, wasn't always there for what we deemed "important things" when we often thought he should be. But in the end, when he would finally get there, we immediately forgot about the tardiness of his arrival and revelled in the fact that he was actually there!! Finally! Christmases were sometimes late or at other times early, birthday's weren't always celebrated on THE day of birth, and sometimes, he just couldn't make it, no matter what.  But we always knew that he was there in spirit and if he could have moved Heaven and Earth, he would have done so to be there in body as well.

Lesson #2:   Do a good job the first time and you won't have to wash the car six times in a row and waste your entire Saturday in the driveway.  This is a lesson I am now heartily trying to bestow upon my own children.  I need help.

Lesson #3:   Breaking big, impossible-looking things down into smaller more manageable chunks makes everything from Algebra problems to school payments seem less impossible and more doable. 

Lesson #4:   NEVER present the whole candy bar when offering a "bite".  Unfortunately, my kids have already learned this one and I never even got the chance to teach it!!!

Lesson #5:  Being absent during the catastrophic events (broken bones, stitches, boyfriend breakups, deaths and funerals) does NOT mean that you don't share in every ounce of the pain.  Thank you, Daddy, for sharing these with me.

Lesson #6:  Being Daddy's Little Girl doesn't mean you get the car, the Letterman's jacket, the class ring etc. But it does mean that you will have the best of everything you need and all of the love that his heart can provide, even if sometimes it seems like more than you can handle.  My dad has made me cry more often than any one person I know, more often than not by simply loving me rather than punishing me.  I knew I deserved the punishments, they just made me mad. But the support that he gave me in difficult and unsuspecting times were what brought me to tears. Why? Because I didn't always think I deserved them and a few times I wondered if I would be able to match them or live up to them.

I love my dad, and if I could right now, I would give him the biggest hug...and then cry all over him.

I love you, Dad!