Daddy's Favorite
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Just me on Monday, June 22, 2009 6:28 PM
I hope since we’re still within the octave of Father’s Day, you’ll permit me a tardy entry into this week’s wonderful posts featuring the fathers of our Faith & Family blogging team. My entry is postponed because I was pondering the best way to share with you how absolutely crazy I am about my Daddy. When Sunday came and went without me finding the words to capture my emotions, I decided to simply do my best - to share this photo with you because I think it really captures his essence wonderfully.
That smile, those arms full of kids and grandkids, and even that bright red sweater (and the matching socks you can’t see) are typical Daddy. My father is the type of man who’s instantly a friend. He has a knack for listening closely to everything you say and really hearing you. He will often ask me about friends for whom I’ve requested his prayers years after the fact - long after they’ve dropped off my list! He’s a crazy dancer, a great story teller, an especially stylish dresser, a golf-aholic and simply a joy-filled soul.
Along with my mom, Daddy put five of us through strong Catholic educations and saw each of us graduate from college and find wonderful spouses. He always believed in providing for our education, considering it not an expense but rather an investment. In my family, we joke around about “Catholic Social Security”—the concept of raising a loving family who will in turn care for you in your twilight years. Well, Daddy has invested well - he and my mom have five children and their families clamoring for their time and attention.
When I’m feeling a bit down in the dumps, the best thing in the world I can do to lift my spirits is call my Daddy. When he answers the phone and hears my voice, he always says, “It’s my favorite!” Needless to say, it’s the same greeting he uses when my younger siblings call too, but I choose to continue to believe that since I came into his life first, it’s especially true in my case! Daddy is the first person I shared the manuscript for my new book with, largely because I needed to hear “It’s wonderful!” from the one person whose opinion I value most before the editor started tearing it to shreds.
My Daddy’s unconditional love, his constantly encouraging and affirming approach to parenting, has given me a small glimpse into the reality that God who created us could love us unconditionally despite our many shortcomings. Daddy knows my warts, my bad habits, and my weaknesses, and yet he has always been enthusiastic about what I do well rather than waiting for me to mess up and pointing out my shortcomings. And he’s very smart—he fell in love with and married my mother and has nurtured that partnership for close to 47 years, providing a great role model to his children of what marriage should truly look like.
To the world’s best Daddy, I thank you for a lifetime of happiness and for the gift of my faith, which you and Mom showered upon me in my childhood. Here’s to many more years of celebrating you! Your favorites all agree - you’re the best!
P.S. The “hair” featured in this photo is a few years old, following my donation of my “do” to Locks of Love and may be fodder for an upcoming post on long vs. short hair!!
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