For you, Dad...Happy Birthday
per·se·ver·ance/ˌpərsəˈvi(ə)rəns/
Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
Continuance in a state of grace leading finally to a state of glory.
With each new day, I continue to persevere, no matter how tough the challenge before me may be. I can NOT think of a single time in my life that I have regretted persevering.
Now, I have offered you some inspiration or at the very least...something to at least think about.
Today, my post is, as you may have guessed, for my Dad. I decided to dedicate this to him today, not just because it happens to be his birthday but, because of the incredible man he is to me and many, many others. My dad is a man of of determination. I am certain that I inherited this very trait from him. My dad showed what it takes to succeed. He worked very hard, made sacrifices and did whatever it took to succeed. Of course, there were also times in which success was far from easy for him. This is where his determination was key and it simply never ceased. There were many times in my childhood that I felt my dad was not around. As a child, I didn't realize the reason for this absence. Once I grew older, and had an understanding of why he wasn't around as much as some fathers, I felt guilty for ever thinking he didn't want to spend time with me. To this day, I still feel bad for ever letting such negative thoughts of my dad sneak into my head and doubt his love for me. Dad, I hope you can forgive me now that I have grown up and learned the truth of your hard work and determination to provide the best life you possibly could for our family. You always taught me the thinking of, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are always right." I repeat this to myself on a regular basis and always think of the rock that that sat on your office desk that held this phrase.
My dad is truly a man of wisdom. If there is ever a time that I need advice or another perspective on something, I often look to my dad. He is a very wise man and has a great way of allowing me to see things in a different perspective than I may have been able to see prior to a wisdom session with him. I always come away with a better and clearer picture on things after sitting down with him. Lately, I've been having lots and lots of these chats with dad. When times are tough in life, its often easy to get a sort of tunnel vision on things. Its not always easy to think outside of the box. It has not been unusual for me to text him or call and tell him that I need one of his pep talks to give me a boost off the ground. Honestly, I have realized that I wouldn't mind these almost daily. I always feel so much better. Its refreshing. Thank you, Dad, for your constant believing in me and the time you have taken, often last minute, to help me to pick my soul back up off the ground. You taught me to never give up and I give you my word that I will never, ever give up and give anyone or anything in this world the satisfaction of me giving into defeat.
In the last several months, my dad and I have formed the relationship I had always hoped to have with each other. As I told you, he was often gone for business and when I was about 10 years old, my own parents got divorced. I will admit, I struggled with this for a very long time and had built up a wall that I would not let my dad over. I am fighting tears as I am thinking about this. I wish I hadn't done so because so much time was wasted that could have been used building a strong father daughter relationship. I obviously can't go back and change that but, what I can do is put everything I've got, into the relationship that has blossomed since my own marriage has fallen apart. As unfortunate as it is, there are always good things and positives to pull out of not so great situations in our lives. This is one that I am absolutely to the moon about. Dad, I want you to know that the wall has come down for good. You have given me sunshine on the cloudiest days, laughter in the saddest times and so much love and support that I could shout it out from the rooftops what a wonderful and amazing dad I have been blessed with. With all the thankfulness that fills my heart and soul, there are not enough days in my life or ways that I could express to you how lucky I am to have you as the man I so proudly call my dad. I love you so very much and hope you can forgive me for all the times that I shut you out of my life. Through the years of your shared wisdom, I finally saw that you only ever wanted the best for me and were willing to always go the extra mile, or hundred miles to support me, help me, and love and care for me. I love you more than you could ever know.
I sit here smiling to myself as I think of the special times we shared together, like our frequent trips to the local hardware store, just so we could "look around". Who does that?? We did. And we enjoyed every last second of it, even if we just picked up some random "s" hook or some cool new tool we couldn't live without, which is hilarious in itself because we didn't often use tools. But, it may be good to have that crazy weed picking contraption for those times that we may want to pull weeds for fun! OK... I am now laughing to myself! Or perhaps the time we drove through one of our favorite Mexican restaurants to pick up some dinner and you ordered the large bag of chips not knowing that we would receive a full paper grocery sack full of tortilla chips for the two of us! I wish you could hear me laughing now as tears are rolling down my cheeks at this memory as if it was just yesterday. We certainly knew how to have fun and laugh at the simplest things in life. I've learned that that is what life is all about...making the everyday things fun and memorable. Of course we also shared trips that were farther than the local hardware store, such as our ski trips to Colorado. We shared lots of fun times together, without a doubt. More recently, one that stands out is a dinner date the two of us had. I would be crying one moment and the next, the tears came from laughter. Dad, I just want you to know that the blooming relationship we are nurturing, is feeding my soul like you could never imagine. Thank you again for being the man you are and most importantly, my dad. I love you with all my heart. I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday. I hope that your year is filled with fun, love and laughter. I hope that it is spent doing all of the things you enjoy the most....like, for example, golf, golf and of course silly trips to the hardware store. I love you Dad, and here is to many more years of memories waiting to be made.
My dad is truly a man of wisdom. If there is ever a time that I need advice or another perspective on something, I often look to my dad. He is a very wise man and has a great way of allowing me to see things in a different perspective than I may have been able to see prior to a wisdom session with him. I always come away with a better and clearer picture on things after sitting down with him. Lately, I've been having lots and lots of these chats with dad. When times are tough in life, its often easy to get a sort of tunnel vision on things. Its not always easy to think outside of the box. It has not been unusual for me to text him or call and tell him that I need one of his pep talks to give me a boost off the ground. Honestly, I have realized that I wouldn't mind these almost daily. I always feel so much better. Its refreshing. Thank you, Dad, for your constant believing in me and the time you have taken, often last minute, to help me to pick my soul back up off the ground. You taught me to never give up and I give you my word that I will never, ever give up and give anyone or anything in this world the satisfaction of me giving into defeat.
In the last several months, my dad and I have formed the relationship I had always hoped to have with each other. As I told you, he was often gone for business and when I was about 10 years old, my own parents got divorced. I will admit, I struggled with this for a very long time and had built up a wall that I would not let my dad over. I am fighting tears as I am thinking about this. I wish I hadn't done so because so much time was wasted that could have been used building a strong father daughter relationship. I obviously can't go back and change that but, what I can do is put everything I've got, into the relationship that has blossomed since my own marriage has fallen apart. As unfortunate as it is, there are always good things and positives to pull out of not so great situations in our lives. This is one that I am absolutely to the moon about. Dad, I want you to know that the wall has come down for good. You have given me sunshine on the cloudiest days, laughter in the saddest times and so much love and support that I could shout it out from the rooftops what a wonderful and amazing dad I have been blessed with. With all the thankfulness that fills my heart and soul, there are not enough days in my life or ways that I could express to you how lucky I am to have you as the man I so proudly call my dad. I love you so very much and hope you can forgive me for all the times that I shut you out of my life. Through the years of your shared wisdom, I finally saw that you only ever wanted the best for me and were willing to always go the extra mile, or hundred miles to support me, help me, and love and care for me. I love you more than you could ever know.
I sit here smiling to myself as I think of the special times we shared together, like our frequent trips to the local hardware store, just so we could "look around". Who does that?? We did. And we enjoyed every last second of it, even if we just picked up some random "s" hook or some cool new tool we couldn't live without, which is hilarious in itself because we didn't often use tools. But, it may be good to have that crazy weed picking contraption for those times that we may want to pull weeds for fun! OK... I am now laughing to myself! Or perhaps the time we drove through one of our favorite Mexican restaurants to pick up some dinner and you ordered the large bag of chips not knowing that we would receive a full paper grocery sack full of tortilla chips for the two of us! I wish you could hear me laughing now as tears are rolling down my cheeks at this memory as if it was just yesterday. We certainly knew how to have fun and laugh at the simplest things in life. I've learned that that is what life is all about...making the everyday things fun and memorable. Of course we also shared trips that were farther than the local hardware store, such as our ski trips to Colorado. We shared lots of fun times together, without a doubt. More recently, one that stands out is a dinner date the two of us had. I would be crying one moment and the next, the tears came from laughter. Dad, I just want you to know that the blooming relationship we are nurturing, is feeding my soul like you could never imagine. Thank you again for being the man you are and most importantly, my dad. I love you with all my heart. I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday. I hope that your year is filled with fun, love and laughter. I hope that it is spent doing all of the things you enjoy the most....like, for example, golf, golf and of course silly trips to the hardware store. I love you Dad, and here is to many more years of memories waiting to be made.
Everything Dad
A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she's hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.
A girl needs her dad
To show her a man who's good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.
A woman needs her father
Just to be aware,
He'll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.
You've been all these things, Dad.
I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me.
By Joanna Fuchs
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