To all of the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day!

Tonight, as I rocked the boys and got them settled, I started to drift back to my childhood. And as the thunderstorm started, I was taken back to when I was about 10, sitting on the back porch with my dad, just talking or not. My father and I haven’t always had the best relationship. There are a lot of reasons, none that ever need to be made public, but what does need to be made public is the outcome. And as I was rocking the boys and kissing their heads, a text from my dad came in wishing me a Happy Father’s Day and it got me thinking and this is for the most part, my text back to my dad.

As the boys drift off to sleep, I am reminded of my childhood. I am reminded of the nights when you would get a call to be activated with the Army and needed to leave within a few hours. I am reminded of the nights of talks on the back porch during storms, as we are having one now. I am reminded about the good and sometimes the bad, but how we always get back to the good, somehow.

It hasn’t always been an easy path, but I have never doubted for a single minute your love or if I needed you, that you wouldn’t be there for me. You taught me courage & leadership. You taught me that it is ok to lean on friends and ask for help. You showed me that it is ok to let your kids see a vulnerable side.

I remember the night we talked, I think it was a Thursday night, in the work shop & you told me that you were being activated for the Persian Gulf War and it was one of the few times you teared up and said that you were afraid. I remember the Friday night, you were sitting on your bed & you said that things had to change between you and mom. I remember the call you made to let me know that grandma had passed away.

Throughout each of those things, you provided comfort to me, when you were hurting. I just hope and pray, that if i am faced with any challenges, that I can do that for the boys. You trained me to lead & take charge. You trained me to face challenges head on and move past them. You trained me , treat everyone with respect, especially those that serve.

I love you dad. We’ve been through a lot, but beer, beer & hops somehow seemed to make sense on an call one morning.

You see, throughout it all, the good and the bad, my Dad was always there. We might have gone weeks or months without speaking, but I knew that if I needed him, he was there for me, just as I will always be there for my kids. My father was a Col. in the Army, so when I say that I was trained, it isn’t that much of a stretch, but those trainings, have taught me a lot about life. Good and bad. What to do and what not to do.

Those things, have shaped me into the father that I am today. So to all of the father’s out there, my father, my grandfather and my father in law, to list a few, I salute you all and raise my glass and toast you all.

Happy’s Father’s Day