I was with my daddy for Father’s Day this year!

As a little girl I admired my dad so much!  I remember being so impressed with him being in the military and seeing him in his army uniform.  You were so handsome.  I enjoyed watching you buff and shine your boots while we watched Speedy Gonzalez or Pepe Le Pew on Looney Tunes.  He never complained about me wanting to watch the same cartoons over and over again.  He just watched them with me, so now we have our own Looney Tunes jokes.  The very first book I ever read, was a book he read to me every night.  Since I requested this book every night, I had memorized it and was able to read it back to him.  As a child seeing your muscles, I thought you were the tallest and strongest man around.  No one was like my daddy.

Daddy, you were my outside buddy.  We would hike and ride bikes and discover new playgrounds for as long as I had the energy for it.  I remember going on drives and saying, “Ooh daddy, lets’ stop at that park”, and you would.  This would be an “as long as the sun was out” kind of day.  When we lived in Europe you took me to castles, and all I wanted to do was play in the play areas they had, but you didn’t mind.  Not one for roller coasters, I remember you taking me to Six Flags.  We were there before it opened, and stayed until after it closed.  You even got on a ride with me and ended up having a headache for the remainder of our time there, but he wanted me to have as much fun as I could.

I trusted my dad completely and felt so safe with him.  One particular time, we stopped at a park in Brussels (when we lived in Belgium).  I was hanging upside down on one of the numerous bars they had for climbing.  Next thing I knew I had slipped off and fell and the gravel, which thankfully softened the fall of my face (cue the sarcasm).  I jumped up and ran with my arms outstretched.  I had my eyes opened a little so that I could see where I was running.  I saw my mom with her arms opened to me, but I turned and ran to my dad.  I don’t know why I did that and I’m pretty sure I caused my mom to feel some type of way.  I may have run to him because I was used to him being at the parks with me when I would fall.  I just know that my dad made and continues to make me feel like everything will be alright.

You taught me how to put my education first and to always present my best me to the world.  I watch how you are a leader and a take charge man.  People look up to you and respect you and your decisions.  You are admired for your strength and your talent of just saying what people need to hear.  You stand by your choices and back your choices using biblical evidence.  I have watched you mature as you have gotten older and I am so happy that you are walking and living in your happiness.  You are a man after God’s own heart.  Watching you helped me to know the kind of man to ask God for.

There are so many more memories and great things I could say about my dad. I am thankful for you and that I am the ONLY 1 that has the privilege to call you daddy.

From Daddy’s Burp