D is for Dad

He's always been my hero but there have been times when he's been embarrassing beyond belief. Like the time my sister and I were going to a tramp's ball at our church (early seventies, when these things were popular). Of course we were teenagers and no way were we going dressed as tramps but good old dad entered into the spirit of it, big time. He looked more like a tramp than a tramp would and he insisted on walking us to the dance. Guess how far in front we walked and how often we spoke to him? Dead right, about 2 miles and not at all.
Then there was the way he insisted on meeting us from school dances even after we reached the age of 14. Can you imagine what it was like having some handsome young lad ask if they could walk you home and have to tell them, 'Sorry, my dad's meeting me.' Not good at all.
And the time he came to fetch us home from a make-up party. Mum had told us we could stay late but dad turned up at 9.30 and insisted we had to go home. How long did it take for us to speak to him again? Three days.
But all in all my dad loves his family. He has always treated mum with respect and expected us to do the same. One thing he would never tolerate was disrespect to our elders. He worked hard to keep a roof over our heads and never had a day off unless he really had to. And when my maternal grandmother came to live with us he treated her with the greatest love and care until she died. My dad has taught me so much over the years and I'm so grateful to be his daughter. Like I said before, he is definitely my hero and I hope to have him around for many more years yet, even if he still has the power to embarrass me, occasionally.