I measure my Dad's time as a firefighter by my age. He entered our town's fire department a few months before I was born. That puts him at 18 years this summer. Eighteen years of him being the person that people look to on their worst days. Eighteen years of putting the lives of others before his own. Eighteen years of my Dad having one of the coolest, but most dangerous jobs ever.

Growing up, I got to experience some pretty cool things due to my Dad's job that a lot of kids my age didn't get to experience if their parent worked a "normal" desk job. I've been inside more firehouses than I can count, playing around on equipment I probably shouldn't have been on, hanging out with "the guys," and even playing in the fire trucks. I also know a lot more about fire safety than your average teenager. (Did you know that your tapestry and string lights are potential fire hazards? Yeah, didn't think so.) Within the fire department, there are a ton of guys who are protective over me as if I was their own daughter or younger sister. I've celebrated holidays in the fire station (although they were frequently interrupted by fires) and have been involved in some awesome events that I wouldn't get to experience if it wasn't for my Dad's job.

However, when you run into burning buildings for a living, there are obvious dangers. A lot of the time, people seem to forget that behind the men and women in masks and air tanks, there are families worried sick about them. On more than one occasion, I've sat with my Mom terrified, praying that Dad was going to come home safe. We've been lucky; he's always made it home. Some families aren't so lucky. My Mom has always said she was glad my Dad does what he does, and I never understood why, until one day she said: "They look to him on their darkest, most horrible days."

That's what firefighters do; they try to save people from their worst nightmares and risk their lives doing so. If you ask me, that makes firefighting a pretty admirable profession.

With a career like firefighting, there are a lot of sacrifices involved. Shift work has caused my Dad to miss holidays, birthdays and other important events, and in the moment, yeah it sucked. But I know he was working for a greater, more important purpose. Nowadays, my Dad doesn't have to deal with the day-to-day "drama" of going into fires and car wrecks, but as the Assistant Chief of our town's fire department, he does have to make sure that the guys going into the fires and car wrecks do everything safely and correctly. Still, he didn't get to that point in his career without working hard to save lives and make our town a safer place every day.

Growing up with a firefighter for a Dad hasn't always been easy, it's been pretty scary at times actually. But knowing that my Dad has been the person so many people have looked to on their worst days and he's been there to save the lives of so many is a really great feeling. I have a hero for a Dad, and I'm incredibly grateful.