re: Say Something Good About Your Dad

Good Lord. I know this is the OT but this is

My dad was OT poor but he always worked his arse off with two jobs to make sure my siblings and I had what we needed and then some. And he never complained much about it either. He was always there to take me hunting and fishing and made sure I knew the proper way to treat a woman with respect. He has his faults (we all do) but is a good family man.

He was a man that always put family first. While we were poor, my dad still made sure we were taken care of. Even sacrificing so my brother and I could have a first car as teenagers.

I use past tense not because he is no longer alive....but because he is no longer the same person. Mental illness has robbed my family and I of my real father. Instead we have this argumentative stranger that stubbornly will not help himself, not even when it will help his family as well. Severe anxiety has turned him into someone I no longer recognize. I keep hoping and praying to one day see my real dad again.

frick mental illness.

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Dad worked his arse off and never complained about it. 

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My parents got divorced when I was a kid. My dad raised 3 kids, me and my younger sister practically by himself. He didn't even know how to cook when they got divorced.

He made it work with his parent's help despite working 50 hrs per week. Never missed a ballgame, never complained. All 3 of us are college educated and productive members of society.

Smartest guy I know. Can build just about anything and does exceptionally well teaching and explaining how things work. Has forgotten my birthday 3 times though, so he’s still working on the whole dad part.

If I ever need a fence hand-shaped on a homemade table using an old car jack and welded between LED wired brick columns laid using a vertical moving size-adjustable wooden template, I know who to call. Life advice, I’ll probably be able to find something on YouTube.

My dad never wore his seatbelt. He fricking refused to. Babbling shite about the government and whatever else. You know, one of those types.

Well he was mean as shite at times and one day he's getting in my car and i ask him if he wants to put on his seatbelt. I asked for kicks, just to get under his fricking skin and i knew the response i would get. He didn't dissapoint.

He starts yelling at me saying "frick no!! I'm not a pussy like you and your goddamn generation"!! And he meant it.

I smile everytime i think of that. I miss the guy.

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But as kind as that gesture was I never felt close to him.

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I have that issue with my dad currently. I love him deeply and we talk pretty regularly but our relationship is not what I would call close by any stretch.

He had major heart surgery last week and didn’t tell me or my sister. I only found out because my sister works for him and he didn’t come in for work one day without telling her he’d be out so she talked to our mom and found out after he was already under the knife.

He didn’t pull out when momma told him to.

My dad invested his life and meager earnings into his children who are now far better off than he was. He was also great playing ball with us, taking us fishing and other activities or just sitting out in the garage shucking oysters in November listening to Saints games on the radio because we couldn't afford to go. If he were still alive I could return the favor and take him to places and do things he always wished he could have done.

3 campaigns in Vietnam with a Bronze Star.