In Search of a Hero

    
    Today, I thought I would write about my inspiration....my Hero....my Dad.
I am surprised that I didn't think of this before, but It would not be right if I never wrote about the person who had such an impact on my life and has made me the good man that I am today. (And I am good...just saying) We all should have a hero in life...but finding one with all the qualities that you are looking for can be a never ending search these days. It didn't dawn on me who my hero was until I sat down and thought about those qualities I was looking for in my hero. My dad had all of them.

    My dad is a silent man who loves his kids. I cant tell you how much that means for me to say that I know how much my father loves me. Not everyone in life has that and I know that I was blessed when it comes to having a father who Loves. He not only loves me but also my five other siblings. That's a whole lot of needing and time spent out of your day tending to all the kids. (Sometimes you don't realize these things until you have a couple kids of your own and its only then you wonder how your parents did it...right?) Now try and think of it when your a single parent. My mom and dad were divorced when I was 12 yrs old so my dad took on full responsibilities of raising 6 children. Could you imagine? Six kids in all different stages of adolescence wanting and needing your time. And still find time for yourself?  I am nothing short of amazed when I think about what sacrifices my father took for us children. It would not have been the same had he not. My life may have turned out so much different had he not made those sacrifices. And to be honest...I am forever grateful because I love who I am and I know that without him ...I would more than likely not have those same loving qualities that he shared.

    He wasn't your typical dad who had to control what you did..how you did it...or who you did it with. He used the "I will tell you the right way...but if you choose to do it the wrong way...you're on your own." technique. You don't appreciate that method until you reflect back on it and understand that you did alot of stuff that most teenagers don't get to experience.So we had a lot of freedom growing up but we never abused that privilege. (very much)   He would always welcome us home after we would fail doing things "our way" vs. his. He would always have a look on his face of "I tried to tell you" but would never say anything of the sort...that's usually because we knew he was right...at that point anyway. He was a "thinker" and still is to this day. He is retired now and lives a life of waking up wondering .... "what do I want to do today?" (we should get to be so lucky)  He finds the simplest things and makes projects out of them. His latest is making a honey extractor for his bees hives that he has. For the last few years he also has been filming a wood ducks and capturing the ducklings first plummet to with water. We can sit at the TV and watch it all take place. To me...I just think that is awesome. I'm not talking about watching the ducklings first jump...I'm talking about the fact that my dad finds joy in the simple things in life. His work that he puts in his garden every year also proves this. But one of the best qualities about my dad is his Humor. he has this dry, sarcastic humor that if you are not paying attention sometimes...then you will miss the funniest things.

    I am very fortunate to have so many of his qualities. I know my other siblings have them too. I am so thankful that he never preached to me about who I was supposed to be...he just showed me who I was supposed to be by setting the example. So that is why I choose my dad as my Hero. He has all the qualities that I want in a Hero.
Honesty,Humor, Integrity, Hard worker, Humbleness and Loving.

Can you tell I Love my Dad a lot?