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Sunday, June 15, 2008

My Father, The Hero



For Father's Day, I attempted to find a nice poem that would sum up the appreciation I have for my dad. One of the Google searches resulted in this:
Father poems from daughter
father poems from daughter, dancing daughter father, daughter father mother relationship ... stories mom " special mom son time " father poems from daughter ...www.aproxis.com/ebuvideo=425 - Cached

Now, if I tell you not to go to this site, of course you'll want to. But seriously. It is no where near the sentimental father/daughter poem I wanted. Let's just say that. I shudder to think of the little girls who are frantically surfing the net for Father's Day, and happen to stumble upon what I did. In any event, I chose to scratch the quote search and decided to write my own little thing for him. (err...not so little. Sorry!)

So, I know I'm not the first daughter to call her dad the "best dad in the world," but mine REALLY is. He performs SO many acts of kindness, most of them at random. His joy comes from making others happy, especially those in need. Whenever I catch him doing something for someone, I always want to go out and tell everyone how wonderful my dad really is. He doesn't like it when I do that, I think because he is such a humble person and doesn't want to be put up on a pedestal. But I'm gonna anyway.

Aside from being a Stephen Minister, doing volunteer work, and picking up trash when he runs 5 days a week, he still donates so much of what he has to others. My sisters and I always joke about him spending our inheritance..."Dad, are you sure giving to those nuns in Central America is what you really want to do???" Of course we are kidding. We love nuns. And I hear Central America is quite nice, too. But he TRULY is an example of how all of us should be more giving, and not just with money.

It is funny to walk out of the RCA Dome with my dad after a Colts win. He's obviously overjoyed, but he always finds some way to console a fan of the other team in the crowd. Sometimes the people look at him as though my dad is mocking them (more along the lines of something his youngest daughter might do), but it's amazing to see the look in their eye when they figure out, "Wait...this guy is for real." Then I stick my tongue out at them.

What really amazes me is how accepting my dad is of others. Black, white, gay, straight, Jewish, Christian, Reds fans, even Cubbies fans.....he will truly accept anyone. I have made a few monumental mistakes in my day, and my dad will always just give me a hug and tell me, "It's okay." There's no lecturing (at least not at first), no shaking his finger....just, "It's okay." I think this is what children want the most from their fathers, just to know that they will always be loved and accepted no matter what. So, even if I were to do the unthinkable - convert to a Cubbies fan - my dad would still love me anyway.

God has blessed me with not only the best dad in the world, but the best man. And don't worry, dad. I would more likely convert to Hinduism than to a Cubbies fan.

Happy Father's Day, dad!

4 comments:

IUgirl78 said...

Oh my gosh, Holly--that is just beautiful and hilarious at the same time!!! I was too afraid to click on what you had found on Google. ;) I'm really glad you decided to write something personal. It's so true, too, what you wrote. I couldn't have written it better myself--honestly!

Pigtail Mama said...

Holly, what a nice post! Dad is such a great person and role model for so many. We are blessed to have him in our lives! :)

Emily said...

That was sooo sweet, Holly. I'm sure that was a much better present than any tie or shirt (umm...yeah, I got Kenton a shirt for Father's Day so I'm not poo-pooing the shirt gift). Your dad is such a wonderful man and although I tease about being the fourth Schenher sister, I could only be blessed to be part of such a wonderful family. Okay, now I'm tearing up...gotta go. ;)

Aunt H said...

Thanks, Em! That is very sweet of you to say. You know, I always DID want a younger sister.