I've loved seeing what Karen and Kristi have shared here about fathers and father-figures.
It makes me so happy and yet a little sad, too, thinking about my own daddy and what he's meant to me in my life. He was everything to me. So it would take me more than just one post to express what he's meant in my life.
My daddy gave me unconditional love, and he was always appropriately affectionate and loving. I loved him completely and I know he loved me completely, too. I never doubted that for one second my entire life.
I miss my daddy. He passed away many years ago, and I continue to miss his smile and his one-of-a-kind sense of humor. He could tell jokes for hours on end and never repeat himself and never do anything less than crack up at each joke. He made some difficult times growing up so much easier with nothing but a smile and a laugh.
My daddy was wise. I felt like I could go to him about anything, and I always listened when he spoke because he didn't waste words. When I would get a wild hair about something, he would say one sentence and I would be straightened out because he would always say the exact right thing I needed to hear. He always gave me clear messages that showed he knew me better than anyone.
My daddy made me feel happy to be a girl and then a woman. At all points in my life, I knew I could rely on him and he would be there for his daughter.
I know it sounds like I'm painting a picture of him that is too glowing, too perfect. But that's how I feel about him. I think he is the one who made me who I am today. For that I will always be grateful and will never stop missing him.
I apologize if this has become too personal or too mushy-sounding or if it reminds you too much of someone you miss. Part of loving someone is missing them when they are gone but also feeling grateful for the time you had with them.
My daddy is someone I could never thank enough, and I hope you have a daddy like mine - or marry a man like my daddy was - and that you remember to thank him every single day.
Blessings,
Jody
