Wordfull Wednesday- Thanks Dad

Dear Dad,

Just thought I would take a minute to say thank you. Thanks for being my dad.

Thank you for putting our hand prints in the sidewalk outside our first little house. It made me feel important and included. Thanks for helping me ride that big scary horse, even though I was scared. Thanks for living right down the street from Grandma and Grandpa. I loved hopping over the wash and running up the hill to visit. Thanks for shooting down my Strawberry Shortcake balloon when I let it outside and cried when it started to fly away. Thanks for taking me out for ice cream after I had to get my face sewn up. It really made everything better. And for picking me up and fixing it when I stepped on nails, splinters, sticker weeds, horse poop, barbed wire, sand, and dead sea creatures. I am surprised I can still walk, really.

Thanks for moving us around all the time. I know we gave you grief about it, and still do. I know you did it because you were working hard to make things better for us and to take care of us. I remember the times you were forced to change jobs to honor your integrity. Your example was more valuable than a pension and a company truck could ever be. Besides, it was good preparation for marrying an Airman. After living here in the same place for five years, I sometimes move the furniture around just for variety.

Thanks for teaching me to ride a bike down the hill against my will. I see now that sometimes the hard way is the best way. I thought of you as I forcibly removed the training wheels from Lenna's bike and sent her screaming down the hill at the park. As soon as she opened her eyes and started pedaling, she never looked back.

Thank for being a worthy priesthood holder when it was time for me to be baptized. Of course at 8, I didn't realize the significance of the moment, but I do now. Thank you for being there. For the blessings when I was sick. For making things happen so you and Mom could come to the temple with me and be at my wedding. It meant everything to have you there.

Thank you for all the nights you stayed up late with me finishing homework. For making cell models when I was 10 and science fair projects when I was 12, and who knows what else. I should have gotten it done earlier, and I am sure you had better things to do. Thanks for staying up. Thank you for buying me a clarinet and making me learn to play it. Thanks for letting me stop when I really hated it. For lending me your drawing books and putting my pictures up on the wall.

Thanks for coming to all those basketball games and track meets. It made me proud when you cheered for me and told me I had done well. Thank you for all the track spikes and running shoes and basketball shoes you bought for me when we probably couldn't afford it.

Thanks for taking us to see the country from DC to Mount Rushmore to the Redwoods. For taking me fishing and camping and hiking and trying to teach me to swim. For teaching me to start a fire and shoot a gun. For making me go woodcutting even though I wasn't even really strong enough to swing an ax. For making rope swings and sledding hills and club houses and baseball diamonds. You taught me that it's ok to not be girly and to get dirty. Thanks for not making me scoop the dog poop or mow the lawn.

Thanks for putting up with all my crap as a teenage. For the ice cream dates and long uncomfortable drives. For not threatening to shoot any of my dates. Thank you for pushing me to do well in school. For driving me across three states to drop me off in my first college apartment. For hauling my stuff back and forth. For the encouraging letters and phone calls and making sure I finished no matter what.

Thank you for being so nice to my husband. Thank you for loving my babies and coming to see them and making memories with them.

Thanks for still telling me that you love me and are proud of me even though I am an adult. It still makes me smile.

Love,

Jannet

Wordfull Wednesday- A Father's Role