When I was little, I didn't see how important my dad was in my life since my mom was the one who played house, did dress up and (attempted) to play Barbies with me. She was the one who I could relate to the most back then.
Dad was there when we did fun, exciting activities like sledding or taking me and my sister to "Woodchip Mountain" so he could go get new woodchips for our playset in our backyard. He was the one behind our family video camera capturing the moments of my childhood and our family.
When I started getting older, I started going to him for help on math homework (even though 9 times out of 10 it lead to me stress crying since he was so frustrated with the way that my teachers taught me) and asking him for permission to go hang out with my friends when my mom said no already (which never really worked).
I also started on my kick of taking all of my older sister's clothes, so he was always the one yelling at me and taking away my texting privileges for doing it.
In high school, my dad really annoyed me since he was always telling me to do stuff that I did not want to do. "Go apply for colleges," "Take the ACT and apply for help sessions," "Stop spending money on food," "Go get your drivers license so I don't have to drive you around anymore," (Because who wants to study for that dang test? I sure didn't at the time).
I was sick of it. As a senior, I was so excited to get out of the house so I didn't have to hear his constant nagging.
But when I finally left for college, MAN did I miss his nagging. I was not ready to not be able to greet him with a hug when he came home from work. I couldn't tell him about my day, or argue about dumb stuff at dinner with him. I just was able to catch up on occasional phone calls.
It was a terrible feeling. I felt like I took advantage of my dad in more ways than one. I just wanted to see him every day again.
Being away from my dad made me appreciate him so much more than I already did. Without always hearing him complain about my stupid, annoying habits, I soon came to realize what an influence my dad had on my life.
He's the one who really showed me what music was. I listened to his favorites: Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, everything 70's and 80's he could get his hands on. I could listen to him play guitar for hours on end. Now I text him about music that I find that he would be into also.
He's also the reason I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere. If I have to "adult" in any way, shape, or form, I have to call my dad first about it. He's my go-to Google. From money, to cars, to computers, to everything. I can always call or text him with my stupid questions.
He's the reason I can communicate to the outside world because without him, I don't know how I would even have a phone. I broke 3 phones and had countless others in my short 20 years of life and I wouldn't have any of them without the help of my dad always finding credits so I can get a new one.
My dad turned into one of my best friends since coming to college. I text him about the most random stuff most days, and on the rare occasion, he'll even text me about a YouTube video he's seen that I would enjoy.
So I say thank you, dad, for always being there for me, even when I can't do life right. I will always be your most beloved ball girl for your tennis games.
