My Dad

Tonight I was terrified. I was caught up in the fear of imagining life without Chief and I was so sad. I don't get this way often, and to be honest I felt incredibly alone. I knew immediately exactly who I wanted to talk to. I wanted to talk to the one person who can always make me laugh when I ask him to. I wanted to talk to the one person who doesn't tell me to "stop thinking that way" or to "snap out of it" or to "trust God more." I wanted to talk to my Dad.

My Dad is not my dad because of genes. In fact, he and I don't share any. He and I do not have the same blood running through our veins. My Dad married my mother when I was just over three years old. When he married her, he fulfilled the greatest of vows to love, honor and cherish, not only her but also me. Let me tell you that in my life, fulfill them, he has done.

I am a daddy's girl in every way. In my world my dad is the greatest of heroes. There are a thousand reasons why he's my hero. For starters, despite the fact that I'm not genetically his child (and he does have his own "biological" children), my Dad has always treated me like his blood. He has always believed me, even when I lied, he's told me when I was being a jerk to some boy, he's given the "speech" to every single one of my serious boyfriends (and done it so successfully that they've all left terrified of him after the encounter and NEVER said what he told them), comforted me from heartbreak, fought with me (when I deserved it), fought for me (when I needed it), and loved me, despite my flaws.

My dad makes me laugh. I've heard time and time again, that I'm a lot like him. I think that's quite a compliment. When I think of my dad a few token words come to mind: hilarious (he really is), thoughtful, and loyal. My dad is fiercely loyal. I have always wanted to emulate that.

So tonight, in this complete moment of brokenness and vulnerability, I took to my dad the things that I was afraid of. I said "Dad, will you make me laugh?" and he immediately started acting silly (and I immediately started laughing). I told him why I was sad, and he immediately filled my heart with heavenly wisdom, fatherly strength, and humanly courage.

I don't think he'll ever know what he means to me. I don't think he'll ever be able to understand how much I admire him. I don't think he'll ever know how comforting it is to know that he's always got my back. He makes me braver, because I can feed off of his bravery. He makes me trust God more, because he so beautifully displays that trust in God. He accepts me. He encourages me. He supports me. I'm a stronger person because of him.

I love you Daddy. Thank you for choosing to love me so wonderfully.