Father's Day

With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, I wanted to take this opportunity to write about my Dad. I know how fortunate I have been to have a Dad like Casey. I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t there for me, encouraging me, holding my hand with all the patience in the world. He never pitied me, just remained by my side through the operations when I was little and helped me to be brave just because he was there. He worked hard all day and came home to help take care of my older brother and me without complaint, even when we weren’t on our best behaviour.

Always giving without expecting anything in return, my Dad is the most selfless man I have ever met. I remember coming home for a visit a few months ago to find he had painted my old bedroom walls and put one of my old Hanson musical note ornaments in the window. He even found a doll I had as a toddler in the basement and left it on my pillow. It’s those smaller gestures that speak to how much he cares and really touches my heart.

Dad fully supports me even when I’m struggling or making mistakes. He has never given up on me for a moment, even when I felt like giving up on myself. He reads my emotions really well and will let me talk his ear off even though he isn’t much of a talker and this can sometimes drive him crazy. My friends are dear to him just because they are dear to me.

In my Dad’s world, his children come first. He has been dedicated to not only our well being, but our happiness and success. I fight harder because I know he would never let me quit the fight. He loves to work on cars and watch hockey and leads a very simple life, but as a father, he is extraordinary. This is what makes my Dad a great man. There are fathers who walk away or struggle with how to be a parent, but I believe that Casey was born to be a Dad. His strength, his generosity of spirit and capacity to love through anything and face the challenges before him have inspired what I hope are similar qualities in myself.

Thanks Dad, for being the best father a girl could ever ask for and one of my favourite people in the whole world. I want you to know that you should be very proud of the job you have done with raising Travis and I. No words I write here could adequately express how much you mean to me. I love you so much, now and forever.