Okay, now it's Dad's turn. I sometimes feel like I have a little more trouble talking about what I love about my Dad, and I think that's because his personality is different from my mom's. My mom and I are, well, we're girls. :) We like to talk about feelings and such, so we have a much more emotional relationship. My dad isn't into that stuff as much, so sometimes I feel like it's harder to open up about him and what I love about him. But I think that is a big reason why I should talk about my feelings. I need to acknowledge what an amazing man my dad is and h0w much he's blessed my life.
First, I want to talk about some of the funny or quirky things that make my dad who he is. One of my favorite things to say about him is that no matter what you say to him, he'll have a song to sing about it or a related quote from a movie, his favorites being Winnie the Pooh and Homeward Bound. And when I say that, I'm almost entirely serious. The number of times that he breaks out in song in the middle of a conversation is astonishing, and the movie quotes aren't far behind. His quoting has certainly rubbed off on me: I love quoting Disney movies wherever possible! :) Our favorite quotes from the two above-mentioned movies are "I'm looking down, P-P-P-Pooh" (Piglet from Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too) and "I don't want to hurt you; I just want to chew on your neck" (Chance from Homeward Bound). :) Another thing we tease my dad about is that he's a horrible speller. He often says, "As long as I don't have to spell 'heaven' to get into heaven, I'll be okay!" :) My dad always curious about how the world works. My mom likes to joke that he grew old but never grew up. :) Because he has always been curious and has wanted to learn so much about the world, he has learned a lot, and I always feels like my dad knows everything. The first reaction I have when I don't know the answer to something is, "I should ask Dad." :)
My dad is a scientist through and through. When I was growing up, my dad would come into my elementary school class every other Friday as a parent volunteer. As part of his volunteering, he would do science experiments for the class to teach them about different basic concepts of science. I later found out that one of his biggest reasons for doing this was to help his children be more popular with their classmates. How sweet of him! And it worked: a lot of kids in my classes may never have taken notice of me if it weren't for my dad and his awesome experiments. My dad's knowledge of science and math also helped in another way. Throughout my years in middle school and high school, I struggled with science and math, and my dad was always there to help me understand it. He would sit with me and patiently explain concepts to me, not giving up until I understood them. And for years he did something I will never forget. I had a lot of trouble with making silly mistakes in math that would cost me a lot of points on my assignments and tests. To fix the problem, my dad would come home from work every night and do my entire math assignment on his own; then he and I would compare answers, and when we disagreed, we would work through the problems until we figured out where one of us went wrong (obviously it was usually me, but even he sometimes made mistakes :)). At the time, I don't think I appreciated what an incredible blessing that was, but I do now.
One of my favorite things about my dad is that he makes me feel safe. Whenever I've felt insecure about something (be it a nightmare when I was younger or my current concerns about the future), he has known just what to say and do to help me feel better. And my other favorite thing about my dad is how strong he is in the gospel. He fulfills his callings to the fullest, and he holds and uses his priesthood with all the authority and reverence that the Lord's priesthood deserves. He is a great example to me, and I hope that when I have my own family, I can embody some of his values into my parenting. If I do, I know my children will benefit. Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!
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