Who’s Your Daddy?

“Money does NOT grow on trees!”

~ Dad

“Dad, we own a NURSERY – for all intents and purposes, it does.”

~ what the eye roll meant

(I thought it was time you knew)

Growing up, I had one of those “old school” dads. He never cooked a meal, cleaned a tub, or changed a diaper.

Actually, that last bit’s not true. He did, in fact, change a diaper ONCE – when my 1-year-old brother crawled over and handed him a fresh cloth, indicating that he was feeling “not so fresh.” Dad was in a tight spot. Mom was out, and I was 6 and could not be trusted with diaper pin weaponry. Somehow he managed.

And although Dad was not one of those touchy-feely, androgynous fathers that inhabit the planet today – he worked hard, built a successful business from a field of dirt, and made certain that each of his kids had the college education he himself never acquired.

He also had a lot of completely unfounded faith in my abilities. In fact, somewhere along the line, he got it lodged in his noggin that I had the potential to be the first female president of the United States. I mean, he really believed that this was a possibility. And to prove his faith – although he was not known to be a book-buying man – he even went so far as to purchase a weighty tome (87,000 pages, at least) called A Political Education and give it to me…

for my 10^th birthday.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that introverts aren’t so inclined to seek public office.

However, his belief persisted for a long time. And let me tell you, if The Secret by Rhonda Byrne holds any water whatsoever – my father is 100% responsible for Sarah Palin’s rise to VP candidacy (see Doppelgangers). Now you know who to blame or, er, credit.

And alas, even though my office today is more rectangular than oval…

I wanted to use this “public” opportunity to say thanks, Dad – for believing in me, teaching me the value of hard work, and getting me started on those degrees that hang on my wall.

Happy Father’s Day!

PROMPT: I swear – some dads were put on the planet just to provide writers with awesome material. Justin Halpern would have to agree. He wrote a New York Times Bestseller based solely on the fascinating “stuff” his father says. Doesn’t your dad deserve such a book of his own this Father’s Day?