I can still remember sitting on a stool in the bathroom in front of the mirror with my Daddy lightly brushing through my hair. I used to get so upset when anyone brushed my hair for me because it would hurt my head, but that never happened with my Dad. He was always so gentle because he would never want to hurt me.
My Daddy and I were both the youngest out of all of our siblings. I always thought that created a special bond between us. For a while, my sister kept begging my parents to either have another child or to adopt one because she really wanted a younger brother. I can remember how worried I used to get because I wanted to be the youngest like my Dad. I decided that if Chloe got a little brother he had to still be older than me. I was just so worried that I was going to be a middle child, sorry Chloe, and Darren, and I didn’t think it would be as great as being the youngest. Luckily for me, my parents did not listen to my sister.
For a long time, I was incredibly close to my mom and not as close to my Daddy. I had terrible separation problems when I wasn’t around her. Then, my Dad got in a car accident. I still remember how scared I was the night Chloe and I had to spend at our babysitters. I thought that I might have lost my Dad, and I had no clue what I would do.
After the accident, my Dad was retired so he was home most of the time. Chloe and I were able to stay home with him over the summer instead of going to the babysitters. This was when I realized that my Dad was the coolest man on the planet. My mom would leave for work and as soon as she pulled out of the driveway my Dad would open up the freezer and give my sister and me ice cream for breakfast. We got into a routine of ice cream for breakfast, and spaghetti o's for lunch; Chloe got a can with hot dogs and I got the meatballs. Then we would have a healthy dinner to convince my mom we were still eating right. Those were the days.
When I was in first grade my Daddy and brother Corey helped me “write” a book on the history of local churches around where I live. Basically, they did all of the work but let me slightly help, and then I went to school and showed my teacher. I actually got called into the principal’s office because he wanted to see it too. I still have the book on my bookshelf in my room, and I’ll probably keep it forever. Since then my Dad has written and published two books! He is currently working on his third and I could not be prouder. He inspired me to keep writing.
After my sister graduated from high school it was just my Daddy and me in our house. This was when we became the closest; this is when he became my absolute best friend. Whenever I wanted my Dad would drive me to school so I didn’t have to take the bus. Then he would pick me up after whatever sports practice I had after school. We had a lot of one on one time together. After dinner and my homework was done we could hang out in the living room and watch "CSI Miami" because he knew how much I loved it.
We went through a lot of difficult things together over the last few years of my high school career. I remember multiple nights I would come home crying because I felt so stressed and thought my world was going to come crumbling down. He was always there to listen to all of my problems, comfort me, and reassure me that somehow I would get through it. He would also tell some of his jokes, that he had already told a million times, as an attempt to make me feel better. (After a while I had to stop pretending they were funny because I just couldn’t do it anymore.)
In the beginning, of my senior year of high school, we had a lockdown. I could tell that this wasn’t a drill and it was serious, so I texted my Dad to see if he knew what was going on or if anything had happened. Then the teacher told us that she got an email and there had been a shooting at the local gym. I remember feeling so bad for whoever that was. Then on my way to soccer practice I called my Dad to see if he had heard who it was. That’s when he told me it had been Uncle Derek and his son and that Derek Dylan hadn’t made it. This was one of the hardest things that we went through together.
My Daddy loves Uncle Derek so much and he would do anything to help him get through the loss of his son. I saw my Dad attempt to support all of our family and there was nothing I wanted more than to be right by his side. Not only did I want to support Uncle Derek, and everyone else, but I needed to support my Dad. He was always there for everyone and there was no way I wouldn’t be there through everything as well.
The best part of graduating from high school was that after all the work I put in my Daddy got to hand me my diploma.
As I got ready to go to college this fall I remember how scared I was. How could I possibly go two whole hours away from my Daddy?! I thought I had made a huge mistake and there was no way I could be away from him for so long. It was an incredibly hard adjustment for me, but he was there to talk on the phone whenever I needed it. I began to come home almost every weekend too just to see my Dad.
It is really difficult, almost impossible, to truly describe our relationship. I tell my Dad everything that goes on in my life and whenever I tell my friends that they are surprised. They usually respond, “What would tell that to your Dad?!” HECK YEAH, I WOULD. My Dad will forever be my favorite man on this planet and I could never love anyone more than him. He is the reason I accomplished so much in my life.
I got my Associates Degree in high school and I would never have been able to deal with that stress if he was not there for me every night and day. I also would not have had the motivation to do it if I wasn’t trying to make my Dad proud, even though I know he will always be proud of me no matter what I do. I’m always going to be my Daddy’s little girl and I am so glad that I can be. I love you forever and always, Daddy.
