So you may not be the biological person whose genes run through my blood. So you may have missed some boring moments of my life when I was a drooling baby... so what? You came into my life exactly when you needed to and that's all the matters. Four year old me wouldn't understand the importance of having such a strong male influence in my life until I was much older anyways. So, to preface, thanks for sticking around pops.
The other guy wasn't much of anything, he hustled out of my family's life faster than Usain Bolt, and I say good riddance! Some men truly just aren't fit to be dads. You deserved that position from the beginning, but that's what makes our story so special. I remember being the flower girl at your wedding, chasing the ring boy mostly and standing up with you and mom for the ceremony. It was the event that positioned my life into an exponential spiral upwards.
I remember you worked your way into my childhood. You wanted to earn my trust, and made sure to do it right. I remember having fun car washes in the driveway and you picking me up and pushing me toward the sky. I remember meeting your side of the family and being their first grandchild. I remember the unconditional love you dished out to me every single day. You instantly became a father, and that must've been so weird. You married the woman you loved but she came with a little plus one. That didn't seem to matter!
When we moved out of our small house in Little Rock, AR, we were leaving everything I had ever known, it was like an earthquake that shook my entire world. Not that I could completely conceptualize the idea of moving at that age, just the fact we saw my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins less was enough for me to realize change. You encouraged the move to help better mom's career, for a better life. A nudge you knew she needed to grow. You've rooted for mom's success since day one, and that is such an important staple to a wonderful and healthy marriage. I saw that you made her happy, and that was so vital considering the move from home was hard for everyone. We lived on that lakeside house and made peace with the beautiful surroundings. Mom's belly soon swelled with Karoline on the inside, her birth sprouting some intense childish jealousy on my end.
Would the change ever stop? Not two years into moving did that lake house soon become a memory! Next thing I know I'm in a car with a pink ball of baby that is now my favorite sister, my cat protesting the entire drive. We moved into mom's dream house and you knew we had our roots settled, finally. You and mom worked very hard at your jobs to ensure our comfortable lifestyle would be sustained. As I adjusted to school you pushed me to do sports and to have fun. So, of course, what better way to teach me how to play soccer than to become my coach? You taught me to push myself as hard as I could and to never give up! Mom was the best cheerleader I could ever have, we became a united family. As soon as Karoline was able, you did the same thing for her (we figured out she was a tennis kid pretty quick). You did everything in your power to make sure you treated Karoline and I equally, and while I appreciate this now, I still craved dominant attention. That's typical of any first child though, I promise your attention was more than adequate.To solidify this feeling, there was this beautiful day you asked me to be your daughter, I wanted nothing more than for you to be my dad. I remember sitting with a judge, feeling elated that I was joining the Yeakley family. I remember you looking at me with such joy, I remember reciprocating that look. There was no turning back.
Pressing on into middle school there were academic challenges I just couldn't handle by myself. I remember you sitting down at the living room table for hours on end trying to help me with math. I remember lashing out at you, crying out of frustration. I had zero patience when it came to not understanding something, school was such a breeze otherwise, why is this math stuff so difficult? Thank you for your persistence, mom too. I would later go on to make an A in college calculus (heck yeah)! Aside from that, middle school had some pretty monumental moments in them. One being my heart surgery at Arkansas Children's Hospital; the event that you quit your job for, to be there for me. You quit your job so you could spend more time with Karoline and I. My long days at daycare in the summer and after school were long gone. I remember you telling me you were sorry for missing out on so much, and you were so wrong. There wasn't one day that went by that I didn't think you loved me. You were there for me I promise. All those last minute projects? All those soccer games? All those times where I thought I wasn't good enough? You were there.
While you made more time to spend with your children we had some friction building as I entered my teenage years, I was piecing together the idea you weren't my biological half. Whenever I would become angry I would say some of the nastiest things to you and mom. They were such hateful words, I regret every single one of them. I never want you to feel less of my dad because of that.
You absolutely go above and beyond what being a father is. Synonymous to my soccer life you doubled as a swim team dad, but that just wasn't enough support so you went ahead and joined the swim board. Then became an official. I'm surprised you didn't just join the team yourself! High school swim had us traveling all over the state but I could always count on you to drive there to watch me. That security is something I wish for everyone, just knowing someone believes in you and is willing to drive to every single event to prove that. The winter meets were the best because I knew I'd be leaving in a warm car with my dad rather than a cold bus with the team. That's such a win. At the swim meets mom and you could both come to, I felt invincible.
Dipping into my church scene was also something you wanted to connect to. You always encouraged my leadership and involvement in the youth group and decided to volunteer to help better the program. When we went to our first local mission trip you experienced the whole thing with me. We loved Ozark Mission Project so much we decided to do it three more times, now mom and Karoline do it too! There was something so inspiring about seeing you drop everything in the dead of summer to do volunteerism with a bunch of youth. Seeing you inspiring other kids and hearing your stories helped me step back and just thank my lucky stars. I hear nothing but brags about you all the time, people adore you for the outgoing and loving person you are, and your willingness to serve.
No matter what the problem might be, I know I can come to you with confidence. You have proved to be one of the most relatable people in my life. You laugh at my jokes that mom doesn't find funny. You have this innate sense of smelling out good character, whether that be in potential new friends or a romantic interest. I can always count on you wanting to watch those new action movies with me (Star Trek was amazing by the way). You're consistently the only one in the family who will ride the scariest roller coasters with me. I love hearing your political stance on things, and you allow me to tell you my input, letting me know when I'm severely misinformed. You tell me any chance you get how much you love me and how much you want me to succeed. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful dad like you.
Here's to the dad that went above all paternal expectations, the dad I've always needed, and the man I want my husband to be like, here's to Kelly. I love you.
