It has been awhile since our last blog so I thought I would do a special blog for fathers in honor of Father’s Day. Not like most kids, I had 2 physical fathers in my life. I grew up in a divorced home and had a father and a step father and they live on different planets (well it felt that way). I learned 2 different lifestyles from both of them.
My father is a union pipe fitter and drives a Chevy pickup which was made in 1996 and still only has 80,000 mile on it (it even has a plow which has never seen a snow drift since my dad purchased it.) So I shouldn’t have to tell you he is not what I call a risk taker, matter of fact, he has a backup plan for his backup plan.
Then my step father, an interesting character. He as of the last couple of years, is nowhere to be found. He has pretty near disappeared. His family informs me of when they hear from him so I know he’s alive (I wish I was making this up). So with that said….he takes risks! He rarely stayed at a job for more than 2 years. He has run for state representative, owned a knock off perfume business, managed nightclubs, was a chef, even dealt drugs for a while!? He didn’t have a backup plan ever, but was like MacGyver when pushed into a corner.
Even as I write this down I am shocked at the difference of knowing both these men as my fathers. Life was very interesting at times. I have stories that go on forever. My step father knew how to pretty much do anything you needed done but he was never good at just one thing. My father was excellent at one thing and focused.
I now know that those 2 extremes need to meet somewhere in the middle, because my father, and I don’t have many stories from when I was a child, but he has educated me on many things as an adult. My step father…well I have stories that are hard to believe, literally I wonder if I dreamt them at times.
I now am a father to 3 children and I am proud that I have a little bit of both my father’s in me. Sometimes the focused directed father reveals himself to guide my children and make wise choices and other times , well let’s say my kids will point at me when Mom wants to know what happened. I hope that my children see my father’s in me.
Thanks Dad’s for making me who I am today.
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