Here’s To You, Dad!

A Dad needs to always have his act together.

Got to be a rock,

exhibit grace under pressure.

Never a storm his ship and crew can’t weather, he’s a sailor,  a Prime-Time play-maker.

A broken-heart and skinned-knee mender.

Source of date-night legal tender.

He put you on his shoulders so you could see the monster trucks!

Made fishing trips fun when you had zero luck.

Cheered the loudest in the stands even when your team sucked.

To do the job right, there’d be times when he got red, but rarely spoke strong words that didn’t need to be said.

We knew his soft side would win-out in the end.  All is forgiven with a kiss on the head.

Learned to drive under Dad’s watchful eye, how to change the oil.  How to master a proper half-Windsor knot when I sported a tie.

Taught us how to make dinner from scratch. (And order-out when it burst into flames)

He loves to be the butt of his own jokes, and teach by example those lessons that matter most.

I saw in Dad fairness, decency.  Love.  Honesty and integrity and genuine respect for all persons regardless of their status or beliefs.

When to fight and when to stand down.  When to take the heat and admit you were wrong.

Each day brings more reminders of the role Dad played in me becoming me.  And a dad too, eventually, with a high standard to live up to.

For all this and more, Thanks Dad!