Friday, July 24, 2009

Unspoken Fatherly Love

Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs

This past weekend, my Dad told me how proud he was of me as a dad. He never imagined that I'd be this good of a father, or this dedicated. Between the blog, the pictures, the videos, and of course the time I spend with her, its more than he would have thought I would become. I've always been good with kids, but never this good according to him.

When he said those things, it kinda blew me away. Hearing things like that from your own Dad is the greatest compliment anyone could ever give. After all, most peoples Dads are what the aspire to become. My Dad worked (and still works) real hard to support his family. He has overcome a lot to get where he is, and while he worked a lot, he was always there for us. He rarely missed one of my Little League baseball games, or concerts, or anything else that I had going on. We went to Yankees game together and played baseball or basketball together. We rode roller coasters and climbed the nets at Sesame Place together. We did all types of things that made us close.

As many things as we did together, we still weren't the closest of friends. We were Father and Son, which is definitely different from being close friends, but not in a bad way. We didn't show emotion to each other often, and in fact, probably went out of our way to hide emotion (either good or bad) on occasion. But despite all of that, I still feel a close connection with my Dad and I know he feels the same for me. It was just made even clearer to me last weekend.

I hope Kaylani and I have a close connection now and especially when she's older. It's way too early to tell if she'll still be Daddy's Girl, or if she'll be more of a Momma's Girl. I want her to feel comfortable with me. To come to me in good times or bad times. To know that I'll always be here for her and how I'd do anything for her if she asks or doesn't ask. I want all of this from her because that's what I have with my Dad. I know he's there for me 100% of the time, no matter if he says it or not. I just hope Kaylani feels comfortable saying it. That's the difference between Daddy-Daughter and Daddy-Son closeness. So while I wish for all these things for Kaylani to say outwardly, I'm going to take the cheap way out and say it here. Thanks for everything Dad. You're the best and I love you.

I thought this post was especially fitting since it's Fatherhood Friday so I waited all week to post it. Now do your part and click on over to Dad-Blogs to read other posts from the great group of Dads (and Moms) we have over there. Oh, and give your Dad a call and tell him you love him. Or at least write it down. I'm sure he deserves it.

4 comments:

SurprisedMom said...

It's great when we get confirmation from our own parents that we are good parents. I've never seen a dad-son relationship up close, I grew up around all females. I can tell you though, my girls absolutely love their dad and tell him everyday. They also speak up when something's bothering them or they're excited about. I think with the love and care you show Kaylani, you will have this kind of relationship when she gets older.

PJ Mullen said...

That's cool. I'm not terribly close with my dad and I'm sure he has something he'd like to say about my being a SAHD, but knows better than to voice it in front of me.

I'm sure with everything you do for your daughter she is destined to be a daddy's girl. And that's a good thing.

BellaDaddy said...

Kudos, always the best feelings to here it from someone so close!

JonnyTam13 said...

I sure hope you guys are right! I've always wanted a Daddy's Little girl :)