Setting the Standard

Father's Day is tomorrow and hopefully my dad (Welo) will arrive from his 2 week trip to Texas sometime around 3 am. The plan is to celebrate later that evening, the details aren't planned yet but at least there's some sort of plan. DrillSgt. and I were planning to celebrate here at home by ourselves (with Da'Gorgeouses of course) but I'm sure he won't mind doing something a little bigger. My dad is a pretty great guy, one of the fondest memories I have of him is staying home with him on the weekends (my mom was an RN and more often than not worked weekends). He'd get us up early to clean the house (no that wasn't the fond memory part), he'd make and pack my mom lunch and take us to see her, we'd then stop at some sort of hardware/tool store and browse, then we'd come home and watch Kung-Fu Theatre (remember that?!) man, we LOVED Kung-Fu Theatre!! LOL!! The other fond memory I have is when he actually allowed my sister and I to put barrettes all over his hair, just so we'd let him watch a movie and not bug him. Of course he drew the line at us taking a picture of it, so I have no concrete evidence that the event ever took place, but my sis and I know it happened!

In the dad department I'm thoroughly convinced Da'Gorgeouses have the BEST!! DrillSgt. is a WONDERFUL dad and from the minute they were born he was a goner. Of course they did give us quite a scare, but I remember him saying, "Man, I'm a mess right now, I can just imagine how I'm going to be on their wedding day!" Mind you, Da'Gorgeouses were only 3 days old---lol!! What a guy! There's nothing I love better than to watch them interact with their daddy, they have such a great time, and I can totally see that Father/Daughter connection when they look at each other. It's such a very special bond and one that I'm so grateful they have. I know it means the world when your dad loves you and tells you every night before you go to bed. No matter how old you are you don't forget the hugs and kisses, the advice he gives, and the room he provides you with to make and learn from your mistakes, and you especially don't forget the unconditional love and support.

Did I ever tell you that on my wedding day as I was fully dressed and standing right in front of the Church full of all 300+ invited guests, DrillSgt. waiting at the altar in his dress blues, my dad came up to me and said, "Mija, are you sure you want to do this? It's okay if you don't, all the money we've spent, all the things we've set up the food, the hall, the reception, they don't matter, what matters is that you're sure." Do you know how powerful that statement was to me? DrillSgt. cringed a little when I told him what my dad had said, but it was no reflection on him, my dad loves him. Dad just wanted to let me know that no matter what he would support me in my decisions, he would back me up come Hell or high water, he wanted to let me know that there was no pressure either way. AND Who do you think was with me at the hospital after Da'Gorgeouses were born? DrillSgt. and my mom were with the girls 90 miles away, so dear dad kept an eye on me, and when it came time to break out the breast pump in front of him did I get embarassed (poor dad he did)? HECK no!! That's the man that took care of me all those years, cleaned my butt, wiped my nose, hugged me when I cried, and there he was standing watch over me, worry written all over his face, while I worried about my girls, why would I be embarrassed?! I LOVE and ADORE my dad. Coming from my own perspective, when you're out there looking for Mr. Right, the future Father of YOUR OWN CHILDREN, if you've got a great dad your standards are set exceptionally high. Lucky for me I had never been more sure of anything in my life, DrillSgt. was just what I was looking for.