The Coolest Dad
Dads are cool.
First off, there are dad jokes. Need I say more?
This weekend is Father’s Day, where we get a chance to celebrate our dads and all that they are. My dad in particular, is the coolest. He’s 100% a girl dad - he loves The Princess Diaries, margaritas and is quick to teach us any and everything he can.
I could probably go on for a whole day about how cool my dad is, but here are some of my favorite reasons that he totally rocks.
He Can Fix Anything.
As a total daddy’s girl, my dad has always fixed anything and everything that’s broken. To this day, I call him whenever something goes wrong. Even if I call and ask to borrow a tool to fix something myself, he will usually just come over within 24 hours and fix it for me, while teaching me how to do it myself. He is great with almost any home repair, and he’s handy with cars, as well. I know that I’m so blessed to have a dad who can help with house projects and give sound advice, because there’s an 95% chance he’s already done it before.
He’s A Real Girl Dad.
As much as he is an outdoorsy dad who can fix anything, he was blessed with two girls, and he has embraced being a #girldad completely. He has fashion sense, loves a good pedicure and is always down for a rom-com. One night in high school, my sister, Sarah, and I were planning on having a girls movie night to ourselves. We made some snacks and were heading up to our “movie room” to settle in for an evening of sappy chick flicks. Dad noticed us heading up and said, “Hey, are you guys going to watch a movie?” In an effort to deter him, we replied with “Yeah, but we’re watching girly movies, like The Notebook and Princess Diaries. Sorry!” His response - “I LOVE the Princess Diaries!! I’ll be right up!”
Did he crash our movie night? Absolutely. But we had a great night together, laughing and crying at our favorite movies.
Don’t get me wrong, we were also raised watching the Philadelphia Eagles and lots of action movies as well. We are well-rounded in the entertainment department. He made sure of that.
He Supports Anything and Everything.
Growing up, my dad always told me “Whatever you want to do, I don’t care what it is, but you be the best you can be. If you want to flip burgers, you go and be the best burger flipper the world has ever seen. I’ll be proud of you either way.” A few years ago, my sister decided she wanted to start learning to dance and signed up for ballet, as a beginner in her twenties. Both of my parents love watching her dance and are so, so proud of her. I am, too, and I cry throughout every single one of her dance recitals.
He has also been super supportive of my blog. When I first started out, I was hesitant to share it with others. I had no idea what I was doing, at all. When I told him about it and shared my site with him, he immediately shared my post with anyone he could, and told me I should write a book. HAHAHA. I had a total of three blog posts published and this man is telling me to write a whole book. Even just starting out, his support meant a lot and kept me motivated to keep writing, even if it sucked.
He Does Really Cool Stuff.
First off, my dad has a boat, taught us to fish, plays guitar and is down for a party at any time (much like my mom, as previously mentioned in Life Lessons From My Mom, my Mother’s Day post). What’s even cooler than those things is that he’s built an incredible nursing career, landing him on a critical care pediatric transport team - meaning, he specializes in taking care of super-sick kids (as small as preemies that can fit in your hand, and as big as full-grown teenagers) and cares for them in transport between hospitals, either in an ambulance or a helicopter.
One of my proudest moments was shortly after he was promoted to Nurse Manager of the team. He had been in the leadership role for about a month or so, and the man was BUSY. He was booked in meetings all day, in addition to learning the management role. He no longer wore his transport uniform, and instead, donned a pressed shirt and tie every day. At the time, I was working in the NICU of the same hospital, and we were expecting an admission. This kid was sick. The transport was long and difficult and the baby wasn’t stable at all. It was all hands on deck. The transport team finally rushes in with the baby, and there with the team is my dad, in his shirt and tie, sleeves rolled up, his hands literally in the isolette, helping to keep this baby alive. He stayed for as long as it took to stabilize the baby, and didn’t leave until his team was ready to go.
He didn’t have time to be there. It wasn’t his job anymore, but he had dropped everything to help his team when they needed an extra set of hands. That is a true leader. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of him than in that moment, as I watched him rush by, the only person in a shirt and tie, doing what God put him on earth to do. That’s the kind of person my dad is.
Now that I'm melting into a puddle of tears, (in true John fashion, for those who know him - I am his daughter, after all) go on and celebrate your fathers this weekend. We wouldn’t be who we are without them, and they are true gifts.
Happy Father’s Day!
P.S. - If you’re looking for some ideas on celebrating Father’s Day, check out this post!
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." Psalm 103:13
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Luke 15:20