DADDY'S GIRL

I am a Daddy's Girl...always have been...always will be. My mother did a really good job of teaching me to love, honor and respect my father. He is a good father and has always been an integral part of my life.

Although I still contend that Mother's Day should be renamed "High Holy Day", where would we be without the men in our lives? Much to my husband's dismay, I am far more like my father than my mother. My mother is sweet, loving and an incredible cook. My daddy is a demanding, Type A, perfectionist....and he loves his children.

Raising children in the 1960's and 70's was a challenge. His was the generation that simply sent their wives into a delivery room far down the hall from the father's waiting room only to be called hours later to see the product of her labor and be called a "father". Children were a mystery to a group of men who lived in a society where women's work was women's work and lines were not crossed.

So, given that my daddy was a part of that culture, I think that he was a typically involved father of the times. He attended baseball games, football games, and dance performances. His role was bringing home the bacon and providing financially for his family. This he did quite well...a measure of success in those times.

It was only as an adult that I have been able to really appreciate my father as a man. His kind heart and generous spirit are qualities that I hope to emulate. Family is very important to him, but his generosity extends to strangers in need. He has always willingly given money to someone down on his luck. I think that his humble beginnings are always in the back of his mind. He lives what he preaches. To those much is given, much is required. We are blessed by God so that we may bless others. And he doesn't only preach, he practices. He is a Good Man. A Man of God. He is my Daddy..... and I love him dearly.