Daddy's Day!

"Daddy, I wanna play football."
"Okay, sweetheart. Go get a ball. I'll meet you outside."
"No, Daddy. There's a league. I wanna play flag football."

I handed my dad the form that advertised the girls flag football league in my hometown. His eyes bulged out of his head because he was so shocked. This was a new concept, girls playing football. Of course, he agreed to let me do it, or else there would be no story here.

Now, my father was not the office type. He didn't work a regular 9-5 job, come home, put his feet up and go to bed. He worked early hours and got off in the early afternoon. Then, he would go out to the fields and coach me in whatever sport that I played. That is one thing that I will always say about my father, he was always involved in my life. He made my little sister and I, his top priorities, no matter what.

For example, my father doesn't care for soccer. He has nothing against it; it's just not his thing. He's more of a baseball and football type. But when I came to him when I was 7 years old and said that I wanted to play soccer, he coached me until I quit soccer and decided to switch to football. When I switched to football, I never left. I played until I injured my shoulder beyond repair. But, let's get back to my original story.

My father went to a coach's meeting after I signed up for flag football, hoping to meet someone and be their assistant coach. Obviously, he had no idea what the rules were or how flag football worked, so he wanted to learn the ropes from someone else. But there was such a shortage of coaches that he had to take a team. So he learned by doing and fell in love with the game just like I did. I played for ten years and my little sister even joined in when she was old enough.

Those years playing football were the best years of my life and provided some of the best memories that my father and I have with each other. That was our time and he always made sure that there was time for it, no matter what. So even though I have all of these wonderful memories, the best one is the one where I come to him asking him to sign me up for football. I find it a bit comical because he just told me to go get the ball, not realizing what I was asking.

My dad has sacrificed a lot for my sister and I, like sleepless nights when we were sick and hours on the football field when he could be doing something else, like going out with his friends. I'll never be able to repay him for that time, or for just being there for me, when so many other dads don't have the ability, even though they wish that they could. I was blessed with something that a lot of kids aren't and that was endless hours on the football field, playing with my dad. I will never forget those times because they are ingrained in me and they helped shape who I am, just like my father. I love you, Daddy. Happy Daddy's Day!