Father's Day 2014

Today is Father's Day, a day that we set aside to honor the men that raised us, whether it is our biological father, a step-father or another strong male presence in our lives. Personally speaking, I was raised by a pretty great dad.

My father has always been someone that I could depend on. He was always very involved with my life. He didn't just sit around on the sidelines and watch my mom do all of the work. It was a partnership. My dad just loved being a dad. From the second that I was born, he loved me with everything that he had and every day that passes by that love continues to grow.

The day that I was born. 

If you've been following my blogs for a while, you'll know that I have always felt a little different from everyone else. I didn't fit in where I was from and to be honest, those differences worried me a lot. I wondered if my family thought that I was different or weird. I wondered if those feelings changed how they thought of me. Despite my insecurities, my father loved me for the person that I was. One day, I brought my insecurities up to him and I wasn't sure what his response would be. He stayed silent for a moment, looked me in the eyes and said, "The day that you were born, I made you a promise. I said that I'd love you forever, no matter what. And I will."

Those words changed my life. In that moment, I realized that no matter what, at the end of the day, I had my family. And if I had their love and support, those differences and insecurities didn't matter.

But I also shared him and that didn't bother me. Growing up, I had friends that didn't have fathers for various reasons; they left, they died, etc. And my father was always there for them with his heart open and ready to listen to whatever problems they had. He gave them advice, helped guide them and helped turn them into the people that they are today. And I have to say, that's pretty special and it's something that I'm really proud of.

Helping Daddy blow out his candles.

I'm a very lucky person and I don't take my father for granted. But I also know that at the end of the day, that he's one of the people that I can depend on. A few weeks ago, I called him in the middle of the night, hysterically crying and said, "Daddy, I need help." He dropped everything and came to my rescue. And I bet you that he'd do it again if I needed him to. That's love. Even 1,400 miles away, he's still my hero.

There are not enough words in the dictionary to thank him for raising me, being my confidant and being my friend all of these years. Of course, there were times when I acted out and had to be punished accordingly. However, without his tough-but-fair attitude, I wouldn't be the thick-skinned and successful person that I am today. I appreciate every lesson that he taught me, even the hard ones.

So thank you, Daddy.

Thank you for loving your job as a daddy.
Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bike.

Thank you for taking me out to drive my Barbie sports car.
Thank you for taking me to all of those Miami Dolphin games.
Thank you for being my coach in every sport that I played.
Thank you for always being there when I needed you.
Thank you for all of those times that you came to my rescue.
Thank you for teaching me how to throw a perfect spiral.

Thank you for all of those wonderful memories of playing in the back yard.
Thank you for being my friend.
Thank you for all of the playgrounds that you built for me.
Thank you for supporting my dreams and always pushing me to be better.
Thank you for putting up with me during my bratty teenage years.
Thank you for all of the sacrifices that you made for Kelly and I.
Thank you for taking me to Disney World more times than I can count.

I could go on and on for days because you've been there for everything. Every major milestone in my life from my first word to my wedding day. So for now, I'll just say thanks for everything and I hope that even though we're not together for this Father's Day, that it's a great one.

Happy Daddy's Day! I love you!

-Chelsea