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

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!