Father's Day is today (Sunday). It's a day set aside to memorialize our fathers in some way. A day to express gratitude for our fathers' love and care, which we have experienced and continue to receive. I wanted to dedicate this week's post to my Hero,my dad.
Father's Day greetings! I wanted to take a moment to express my love for you and how proud I am that you are my father. I feel this way for a variety of reasons. First, no matter how hard we struggled, you and Mom always made our childhood a happy period filled with lovely experiences that I can recall over and over.
You found time to guide and instill in me my love of writing, to engage my crazy ideas about everything, and to let me make mistakes, not due to indifference but due to my maturation, in life while always being the safety net to catch me from falling too hard. My memory of my childhood and youth are full of vivid recollections of countless experiences we had together. You and mom may not have had the financial means to give me everything I wanted, but I don't remember that at all. I do remember you giving me something of far greater value, that man-to-man relationship between a father and daughter that money cannot buy at any price.
You also taught me more about the notion of honesty by example than any words could possibly convey. You characterized honesty as always telling the truth, paying your debts on time,Praying for others, showing love to everyone you meet along the way, keeping all of your promises to other people, and never taking something that wasn't yours. These lessons guide me in my daily life, and while I know I can always do better, I know that I will continue to strive to fulfill those lessons every day because I will never let you down.
Papa, I want to thank you for always letting me be whatever it is that my life’s journey has taken me to. Thank you for supporting me most importantly with your prayers and God’s word.Those word has been a light to my path. Thank you for teaching me that it is perfectly acceptable to strive to be whatever I want to be in life and to not adhere to what others would want me to be.One thing that is most distinguishable from your character is humor. Your humor has seen me through many trials. Your way of dealing with things is what people see in me too. You are my tower of strength. I can never thank you enough for being an amazing example of a true human being in my life.
Right from childhood you have bathed in me the spirit of traveling around, meeting new people, and supporting others,there isn’t a single moment in my life where your guidance hasn’t helped me. I have countless father-daughter memories to cherish for a lifetime and I am thankful to you for all those memories. Every minute that we ever spent together is an unforgettable experience. All the memories are thickly embedded within my heart.
There are endless reasons why you are the greatest dad in the world for your little girl. Thank you for supporting me in my every ambition and helping me get through them. Remember—you always taught me to never give up; I promise I won’t ever give up.
I will always love you for the guidance, comfort, and encouragement I got from you. You are the most awesome dad ever. More than dad, you have been my playmate, hero, coach and mentor. You were the one who always pushed me to become the strong woman I am today. I cannot thank you enough for your constant love and support you showered upon me all these years. It means more than anything to me.
In closing Papa,I know you might not be able to read but I know Someday in the future your grand children will read this and smile. I want you to know how much I love you. Now that I have Gotten to the stage of searching for my life partner (lol). I will continue to teach myself that being a good lady comes from embracing the humanity that we are all born with, and treating everyone around me, (regardless of race, gender, creed or sexual orientation), in the same way. I will continue to tell myself that displaying emotion isn’t a sign of weakness but a sign of humanity. That having empathy for my neighbors should be coupled with action to make the world a better place for those who come after me.
God not only blessed me with one Dad, he blessed me with two.
I learned lesson from my Second father:
Never have expectations, and you wouldn't be disappointed, life is really what you want it to be.
Make someone smile, be polite, friendly and treat people well, always be a gracious host and make people feel welcome in your home and have Faith and believe in God. He taught me that education is everything, and that if I wanted to achieve anything in life, I could.
I spend precious time with him and tell him how much He means to me. I will thank him for what he has provided and sacrificed for me. I will do my best today to make my father proud.
I could not go through a day without recognizing his influence on me. His philosophy, his words, his beliefs, his approach are a part of who I am today. I love you. Thank you for what you have done in life, what you have given me, and the deep character you have instilled in me.
You let me know you care.You're always there to help,whatever the need may be you've given of yourself and so unselfishly. Now you're becoming the dad that I have never known. I'm drawn to you more every day for the kindness you have shown. I just want to thank you and let you know I care. I’m grateful for you, Daddy, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pay you back for all that you’ve done for me. A second dad as great as you is something very rare. Thank you for everything you have done for our family. We love you with all our hearts. Daddy Israel Bamidele Olaore.
Felicia.
Dear friend, if your dad is still with you or has passed on, take a minute this weekend to honor your father in some way. I would love to hear your thoughts on your dad and your relationship with him.
Happy Father's Day to all my fellow dads out there. See you next week!!!
Proverbs 23:22: "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old."
Proverbs 23:24: "The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him."
QUOTE FOR THE WEEK
"Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice."
"A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow."– Unknown
"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that's why I call you dad, because you are so special to me. You taught me the game and you taught me how to play it right."- Wade Boggs