Dads Are No Joke

I have often found myself thinking of everything I've learned in my twenty-four years (and counting), here on Earth. I needn't wonder about where I get my love for animals -big and small-, or my passion for literature. I needn't wonder about where and when my passions for history and music awakened. My love for fishing and marksmanship, and even gaming... There are so many things that run through my head each day and I smile at the memories.

I have a vivid memory of the first time I watched the first Jurassic Park. I used to have one of those gaming chairs that rocked like a rocking chair, and I remember sitting on that chair as the movie started. I was around six and to this day I remember loving the music, and I laugh when I think of the first time I heard the now iconic lines that I quote every day; I also remember squeaking in fear and sending the chair rocking to the floor during the T-Rex chase, a scene that -despite that memory- will always be one of my favorites. My love for movies may have started before then, but my love of science and Jeff Goldblum lives to this day.

My love for history came from something less dramatic: conversations and lessons around the dinner table. Between bites of homemade burgers, steaks, potatoes... I walk(ed) away from that table with new knowledge that I have used to teach my coworker friends something new. My love for cooking was fostered in the family kitchens and to this day I almost never leave a meal without a new recipe from someone.

Some of my favorite memories I may share with many around the country and the world, one of which is of course: decorating the Christmas Tree. Everyone in my house had a specific job when I was growing up; from setting up the tree, to the little decorations around the house. I always helped with the ornaments and the lights and beads, as did my uncle. Throughout the years, we've helped each other with each holiday job, and while I helped I always knew that the tinsel was my grandpa's job. I've never heard exactly why he likes putting the tinsel on, but its his thing, and I think it proves that everyone can add a little shine and sparkle to any room, if given the chance.

Winter may be my least favorite season -despite being born in winter-, yet another one of my favorite childhood memories took place every winter. My cousin and I love spending time with my great-grandfather (his grandfather); he's a Veteran and we've both learned a lot from him. One thing being that despite his tough -and at times, bullheaded- nature, he truly does love spending time with us as well. When we were younger he'd go up in the barn loft and get his old sled down, then he'd take us on the frozen pond and run around, pulling us by a rope. This is where he showed us who we got our mischievous sides from, as I'm convinced his favorite part of this was having us gain speed and simultaneously letting go of the rope; he would then jump out of the way and watch us crash into the snow embankment. I won't lie, I'm sure we screamed, but we were also laughing and to this day we laugh when we talk about it.

Some may be wondering why I've chosen to share these memories for my "Dads Are No Joke" entry. My answer for you is simple: all of the memories I should have made with my father, he was never there for. He doesn't know about these memories -he never will- and I highly doubt he cares. For that matter, I highly doubt he knows whether or not I'm alive. Each one of these -and many other- memories was made with and because of a father figure in my life. My uncles and my grandfather, my great-grandfather and older cousins, and even a friend that I made when I was in the 7th grade, that was a Junior at the time; each of those men have taught me something that they may not have thought much of at the time, but those teachings meant so much to me, and always will. So yes, dads are no joke, but the person you see as a dad, doesn't have to be your biological father; all that matters is that they treat you like a father (or even a big brother) should, and that you soak up every moment you can with them, because you never know when it could be your last.