From embarrassment to admiration

The story of my Dad..

My Dad comes from a big family, he is one of 5. An older brother and sister and two younger brothers (four boys, poor Grandma). He grew up in a strict household, Grandpa was a pastor and they didn't have a whole lot of money.

For these reasons my upbringing was fairly strict but my dad did try to give us what he never got as a child. He worked hard to earn money to support the family.

When I was younger I was always embarrassed of my Dad. Typical pre-teen/teen girl behavior. He can be goofy and thinks he's funny which used to drive me crazy. My pride and fear of judgement didn't allow me to see the funny side. I pushed him away and didn't want to be seen with him in public and he never held that against me. He made a point of trying to connect with my older sister and myself. He tried to take me for 'father/daughter dates' as he called them, basically just going to get ice cream or a milkshake. Even with the treat to tempt me I got to an age, maybe around 12, where I just refused to go. I told him I didn't want to do that because it was weird. None of my friends did that with their dads. In hindsight it was very sweet, not many of my friends dads ever put in that sort of effort with them. When I look back he never deserved me pushing him away. I got very lucky with who my dad is.

Growing up has allowed me to gain perspective and I now appreciate my dad's continued efforts to have a good relationship with his daughters. The idea of having my own kids has shown me just how important I think it is for a daughter to have a present and caring dad. My older brother is married and has a daughter of his own, she's 18 months old. So far I have watched him be the most amazing father to her and husband to his wife. My father was his role model for being a father and I believe that is why he is the best dad to his little girl. He has another little girl on the way and I just know those girls will be loved and supported always.

As an adult who has lived out of home, I can see how strong of a person he is. He is the sole income earner in the family a lot of the time and he has worked hard his whole life to provide for his family. He did his best to give us everything he wished he had as a child. I can see the changes he has gone through to help his marriage make it through the years. This is what I admire the most about him, changing yourself can be very hard but I've watched him do it to make my mum happy. I can spend time with him now and not be embarrassed, I can laugh at his terrible dad jokes. Most of all I can appreciate the wisdom he has to pass on to me from his 58 years on this earth.

Dad, I am proud to have you as my father. You have always been there for me, even when I have ignored your advice and made mistakes. Thankyou for being you and I can't wait for you to be a grandfather to my children, the way you are with my nieces.

P.s I forgive you for not wanting to have a third child because I know you changed your mind as soon as you saw me.