Blow out crisis averted and "little man" is asleep. Now I have time to write what I wanted to say about fathers.
This is my dad. He is pretty much the coolest Dad you will ever meet. He taught me how to be tough, honest, hard working, loyal, and gave me my somewhat "quirky" sense of humor. Dad also taught me that it's never over until....well until the fat lady sings. There is a saying in my family. We all like to say that it's Dad reaction to everything.... "You are fine, just walk it off" My brother and I joke that we could have our bones poking out of our arms and Dad would say "You're fine, just walk it off."
To those of you who don't know my Dad you may think this sounds harsh, but think about it. Everytime your little one comes to you crying over every little bruise if you get upset like they are then they won't learn that they can be tough.
I learned to be tough.... and I have needed to be tough. I have taken falls from horses that would make grown men cry. I have had broken bones, concussions, sprains, and I have cracked helmets in two from slamming into fence posts while being bucked off.
But none of those pains can compare to the lessons life has thrown at me. Emotionally, boy, I have had to learn to be tough. From school kids teasing me, moving to new schools, to heartbreaks from boys, sickness in myself, heart attacks and death, being an Army wife and holding it together while the hubs was overseas; those have been the times when "You're fine, just walk it off" is what kept me putting one foot in front of the other. That is when I look at my Dad and say "Thank you for teaching me to be tough, to lean on God and trust in myself. Thank you for teaching me that I can be so much stronger than I ever thought I could."
Everyone has a Father....a lot of people are Fathers, but not everyone can be a DAD.
Love you Papa!
