Father's Day is on Sunday and I have a pretty great father. Mainly since going to college and having discussions with friends have I realized the extent of the impact having a good dad has had on my life. He has always loved me, supported me, challenged me, and given me such a variety of experiences. He has always told me, and still tells me, that he loves me and is proud of me. He holds me close and lets me go.
As kids, he told us "Alley stories" in the woods and took us to see the "Woodsfairies" by the creek. He built a 100 foot waterslide on our property -complete with water pumped from the creek, industrial padding and plastic, and a pool at the bottom. Redneck, but so much fun. We rode the tractor with him, picked and ate cherries from the trees in the pasture, built fences, and fed our farm animals. He bought us baby calves that we bottle fed and raised, brought home box turtles from the side of the road until they took over our chicken coop. He bought me a mule that we hitched to a wagon and rode in the 4th of July parade every year. He made tree houses and forts in the woods with my sisters and I. He filled our "schoolhouse" barn with classroom desks for us to play "school" and let us keep the stray cat who had kittens in the barrel in the corner. One year we picked up pecans, bagged them, and sold them at the intersection near our house. There were a few years we loaded up the baled hay from our land, advertised, and sold it (I drove the truck pulling the trailer at around 11 years old). One night we all got up at 3am to drive out in the middle of a field to watch a comet streak across the sky.
(**Disclaimer: He also spanked me and made me pick up sticks in the yard so he could mow the grass and got mad when all of us girls had no clue what he was drawing in Pictionary. But, it's Father's Day, so I will give him a break on those stories.)
My dad took me on birthday dates, went with me shopping for a formal dress, and bought me nice jewelry for significant birthdays. We danced in the kitchen to The Drifters. While running errands we stopped to get homemade milkshakes and didn't tell anyone else when we got home. We learned about constellations at a series of astronomy classes held at the local university. He took me on a business trip to Williamsburg, Virginia where I hung out in the hotel while he went to meetings and we went to Colonial Williamsburg when he was done. He taught me how to look people in the eye and give a firm handshake. He bought me a car the summer before I turned 16. As it has gotten older, passed 300,000 miles, and had some "minor" issues arise, my family members have given me a hard time about my attachment to the old car. But mostly dad just provides sympathy (slightly sarcastic though it may be) for their comments and replaces the battery cables or has the tire plugged. I hand him the tools and find the screws that fall under the car.
When I wanted to be a sociology major in college he wouldn't let me. Turns out that meant I found something I liked a lot more. When I wanted to go on a mission trip to Ecuador after my 9th grade year he said he'd think about it. He signed the papers when I gave him the already filled out paperwork a day later. When I woke him and my mom up at 12:30am two days before my high school graduation and told them I decided to go to Baylor, he had me wake up the rest of the family and we went to Waffle House at 2am to celebrate. When I went to Kenya he told me he'd recreate the movie Taken if he needed to. When I told him I agreed to date Cody Sherman he said he was disappointed. He soon called back to apologize and say he was always proud of me and he was only surprised I found a guy I would say yes to.
Especially when driving, my dad always gives commentary on life - driving skills, the difference between men and women, successful business ideas, church dysfunctions. He has told me to invest in retirement early, that nice things aren't that great if you never use them, and that you can live a life of fear, or take chances and live a worthwhile life. He explained to me the stock market and taxes and why paper mills smell worse when it rains. He tries, awkwardly sometimes, to ask me about my relationship with Cody. Regardless of my answers, he always responds with relational advice. Usually his life advice and commentary are valid. But he has also taught me to think for myself and I feel free to form my own opinions, and frequently exercise this freedom.
Obviously, with the coming marriage, our relationship will change and grow in new ways, but I will always have these memories, and will always be my daddy's little girl. He cried when he left me at Baylor and I'm anticipating more waterworks as he walks me down the aisle in a few months. But, when he gets to the altar I know he will pass my hand. Because while he often holds me close, he always lets me go to pursue great things.
Life with my dad has been an adventure. And a story. And there have been lots of Character Developments along the way. Here's to dad, and to more of all of the above.
