Wow! What an exciting past three days! My dad has three special days in a row- his birthday, the USMC birthday, and Veteran's Day! He probably hates all the attention or comments he's getting. That's just the way he is...he doesn't like to be recognized for anything! Today...I want to write about him.
I strive to be like my dad. I strive to have his smarts, his wittiness, his ambition, his composure, his forgiveness, his faith, and his love and compassion. I feel as though he
always makes the right decisions. This may be because if it seems wrong at first, he fixes it or he didn't know it was wrong. If I'm in doubt about something, I don't ask "What Would Jesus Do?". I'm not ashamed to say this. Instead, I ask "What would my father do?" (which is usually what Jesus would do!)
My dad is smart in...every subject. Have a question about physics? Ask him. Have a question about math? Ask him. Science, history (especially), math, politics, bombs :P, why things are the way they are or how something's made? Ask him. He will know something about it. And if he doesn't? He never told my brother or I to forget about it because it's not important. He never forgot about himself either. We would research things together. Go to the encyclopedias (bc the Internet wasn't huge in the early 90's!) or now, we do use the Internet as a good research tool. We always found the answer to our questions.
My dad is always the first to offer a helping hand and never expects a single thing for it. While driving, he stops and helps somebody pulled off to the side. He stops and removes debris from busted tires. He helps when there's been an accident. He stays after Church for hours to do dishes, clean, or anything else that needs done. He opens his home for guests without ever second guessing it or doubting the decision. He lends money, time, and energy. Seeing all of this as I grew up has shown me that I should do what I can to help people (whether they are in need or not).
Recently, my ex said some extremely hurtful things to me. Shortly after, he apologizes and says it was a mistake (obviously!). I didn't say anything back for a long while. My father (being the strong, Christian man he is) explained to me that the right thing to do is forgive him. It shows what kind of a person you are when you can forgive people for hurting you. So I did. I told my ex that I forgave him and you know what? I felt so much better. I felt relieved and kind of proud lol.. My father helps me get through so many rough times. He always knows what to say or do. Again, I strive so much to follow his lead.
Something that my dad taught my brother and I very early on was to never panic in stressful situations. Seemed weird when I was younger, but I cherish the composure that I have gained from my father's advice! I understand that panic just leads to chaos in any situation. When driving, if you lose control or go off the road a bit, you don't swerve!! You take a breath, think about what you're doing and slowly and easily gain back control of the vehicle. I learned many, many other things from him thanks to his defensive driving course :) (just another way the Marine Corps has affected my life in some way)
There are many, many, many other things I could tell you that would prove to you my father's ... greatness I guess I could say.
Make sure you discipline your children but still have fun with them!
Don't do a good deed so that you can run and tell others what you have done; do it because it's simply the right thing to do.
Don't tattle tale...does not build good character.
Read books.
Make fun of yourself.
Women are evil (yes, I do agree!)
Money doesn't make you rich. Family, love, and general satisfaction make your life rich.
Educate yourself. If you don't know the answer to something, look it up.
Trust God.
If someone is hurting you, scream. No matter what the perpetrator does, let someone know you are being hurt.
Guns are good.
Weeellll...again, there's so much more! I am truly blessed with the best father in the world. He is my hero. Not just because he is a very well respected and decorated Marine who helps preserve this great country of ours, but because he has helped shape who I am. He has lead the way for me and made a great example out of himself. I hope that my children look to me and/or my husband the way I do him. Btw, this should not in any way be perceived as saying that my mother isn't great or anything! I will write about her another day, but I have jsut been thinking about my dad a lot with all the events this past week.
Y'all have a blessed start to your weekend! Thank you to
ALL Veterans for all that you do and all that you sacrifice. I will never take you for granted.
P.S. Just thought I would add something else. My dad retired because they wouldn't send him back to Iraq/Afghanistan. My dad wanted so desperately to go back. He did not want the young guys who were slightly less experienced to go. Every time someone was killed, it was as though he felt it was his fault. It should have been him. Not the 28 year old with three young children. Not another 28 year old with a son. Especially not the 23 year old with a whole life ahead of him. Not any of them. My dad would rather it have been him. Sometimes I think about it selfishly. Yes he's gotten to see me grow up, mostly, but he hasn't walked me down the aisle, he hasn't met my children. Then I think about the young children who won't have their dad to play ball with. They won't have their dad to guide them through the tough times. So I guess I see where he is coming from. He retired so that he can pursue other job options where he will actually make a difference and save lives. Sitting behind a desk was not where he should be.
