For Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about my dad.

He truly is one in a million. He has listened to me share a dark secret through sobs, believed in me when I didn't believe in myself, admitted his faults and continued to try to grow stronger in his weaknesses.

He always came to my soccer and basketball games even if he could only catch part of the game while on his way to work.

He sacrificed to send me to a Christian school because I didn't want to be in public school and he wanted me to get a biblical education.

He successfully played the role of "mom" after my maternal grandmother passed away and my mom went to Florida for weeks at a time to help my grandpa settle things. We grew really close that year.

My dad lost a daughter in infancy and prayed for a second chance to have a little girl. I was his second chance and he never took that for granted. Lately, I've found myself becoming more and more like him. I'm not totally comfortable with that, but there are traits about him that I want to further develop.

Dad is so generous. He has helped out fellow church-goers, neighbors and co-workers in need when I would have been selfish. Even though he moved last year, he still comes back and visits with the elderly couple across the street on a regular basis.

Dad finds relaxation making homemade meatballs and sauce (and his recipe is better than my mom's handsdown).

It scares me to think about my dad getting older. I don't want to ever lose him. He is an amazing person and has truly taught me about unconditional love. Even though i don't always understand his "twisted" sense of humor, we share long, meaningful conversations and I know he still misses me being his little girl living at home. Now the tears are flowing, so I should end this post with this: My dad is the best dad in the whole world, and I am so proud to be his daughter.