
When I was a little girl, my dad was the King of the World. He was the strongest man, the smartest man, the one guy who could do virtually anything that I wanted or needed. He knew all of the answers, sometimes before I asked the questions. He was the end all, be all. He knew everything.
When I was a teenager, my dad was the dumbest, most annoying person that ever lived. His ideas were old fashioned and archaic and there was no way in the world I was going to do the things that he wanted me to do - they were ridiculously outdated. He didn't know anything.
Now that I have kids, I can see that my dad was really smart and ahead of the game on many subjects, but not everything. He's a great guy who has always been there for me - even when I was too self absorbed to listen. With age comes wisdom, and all that jazz - although, with all of you as my witness, I will never enjoy fishing, no matter how many times I try.
There were some things that my dad was spot on about, and some that he wasn't. I will publicly admit that cleaning as you go when you cook means that the kitchen isn't a mess when the meal is ready - a concept I fought bitterly until I was about 30. It's also a good idea to wipe behind the canisters and such that live on your countertop, and keeping your wash loads current does mena that you won't be searching for that special shirt five minutes before you are set to walk out the door.I will also admit that it's been handy to have those jumper cables in the back of my car, and sunscreen is something I should use routinely.
I will never admit to the superiority of college football over professional. I stand by my logic that I don't need to know how to change the oil in my car. Hunting and fishing are two things I'll never seek out, but it's awesome to know that he can teach my kids these somewhat forgotten activites.
What's your fondest memory of your dad or other father figure? What lessons did you learn from him and how do you apply those today?
©iStockphoto.com/SergiyN
That's awesome! My Dad was the same way:)
Quoting Bmat:That Dad said that girls could choose any profession they wanted and that they should get some kind of job training because even if they wanted to stay at home with the children they should be able to support the family.






my dad passed away last year, we really werent close at all. My Grandfather was my dad growing up. He is the one who would give us horsey rides on his back in the living room when we were kids, he was the one who bought our christmas presents. My most fondest memories that always stick out to me are of christmas time. It is my favorite time of the year so it is only fitting that my strongest memories are of that time. we used to go pick out the tree together every year, we would always pick out a different tree and I would argue my point that my tree was better, he eventually would cave and always said it was a nice tree. That tought me to always fight for what I knew what was right.
I have so many fond memories of my Daddy and I since I am a Daddy's girl but one of my favorite is when we had homecoming at our school and the girls all decided that we wanted our Dad's to be our "dates" and that is the night I won homecoming queen. I couldn't have picked a better "date" to share my special night with.
I learned alot of lessons from him but one would be to always do your best at everything in life that you do.
Quoting black.eyeliner:
The day he got custody of me ... which is the day I met him. I was 11 and needed a hero. That was him.



- Carmen S
on Jun. 13, 2012 at 12:00 AM