When I was growing up my dad and I didn't see eye to eye on a lot of
things. He's stubborn, a
bit quick-tempered, and always thinks he's right....and I got every
single one of those traits from him. So you can only imagine.
Also, I'm his only child. So when I say he was overprotective, I mean
really overprotective.
I can't tell you how many times I was the only one of all of my friends
who wasn't allowed to go somewhere or do something. I would sit at home
and cry over my sad existence while everyone else was out having fun.
Now that I'm getting older I understand every single one of those
decisions he made. At the time I would say " I will NEVER treat my
children this way!!!". Yeah....pretty sure I was wrong.
But
as much as we may have butted heads, I learned so much from him. One
thing everyone knows about my dad is what a hard worker he is. He grew up
in a great family with not a lot of money (
he didn't even have indoor plumbing until high school!),
enlisted in the service at 17, was in Vietnam, and came back with no
college education and pretty much nothing to his name. He worked hard, and was
rewarded greatly for it. By the time I was about two years old, he was
president of a bank. He kept that position until he retired a few years
ago, and he was greatly respected in the small town we lived in. On top
of that, he has always had numerous horses and a lot of land that he has
taken care of. Even now that he's retired and approaching his
seventies, he works on his land almost every single day. All day long.
And yes, I worry about him constantly :)
I have always,
always known that my dad loves me more than anything in this world. Yes,
it drove me crazy when I was younger, but it also showed me what kind
of love I should hold out for. I have always known that he would do
anything in his power to make me happy, whether that meant packing up
every last thing that I owned, driving a U-Haul across the country to
Los Angeles, and dropping me off at the age of 20, or if it meant
coming
back to L.A. one year later, packing everything
back up in a
U-Haul, and driving me
back to Oklahoma.
He paid for my
college education, a brand new car when I graduated, and my wedding. And
he still asks if I need anything every single time we talk on the
phone. To say I am spoiled may be true, but to say I am loved is most
definite.
I can honestly say that I love and respect my
dad with all of my heart, and feel like a lucky girl to have him. I
can't wait to finally give him the grand-babies he has been waiting
oh-so-patiently for. Love you dad!
