Mi Padre, my hero.

            My father will be sixty years old this year.  I know you’re thinking, “dude- that’s one way to open this thing,” but stick with me, I’m going somewhere with this.  That means the best example of all a man should be has been walking this earth for the past sixty years, (You like where I took that? You’re welcome).

            Through his many talents and drive, his intelligence and deep running emotions, through the love he has with my mother, and all the experiences in between,  he is the best father this broad could ever have.

            He’s never stopped being mi padre either. I just turned thirty, and he is still one of my best sounding boards- having an ability like no one else to calm me down and help navigate me to the best possible solution. He can tell by the sound of my voice how I’m doing, and either pacify my fears or kicking my ass.

            He did that on a phone call from me when I was ten years old, and visiting Missouri to see family.  I had been called the N-word for the first time to my face, and coping badly. He was back in California, so I called him and told him what happened. He sang to me, a song he hadn’t sung since I was a wee little thing.  My father has a beautiful, rich voice that soothed his little girls fears and made me feel all the better after such a horrid experience. There was another phone call when I was twenty-five, and had failed a huge certification exam. I called him completely destroyed, babbling about being a failure and crying like a prize idiot. He let me cry my little eyes out, then told me to get to a computer. Then and there he had me re-sign up for the exam, and told me I had one week to throw the world’s biggest pity party. After that, I needed to shake this off and rock that exam- which of course, I did.

            He is endlessly encouraging, never the one to drag me down from my place  with my head in the clouds. Push through, strive to be better, believe you can and you will, to fail is to learn, be the dreamer.

            He can be as goofy as he can be serious, throwing a football in the house with my brother and I and breaking a lamp, (yes dad, I remember that. Don’t worry, I think mum still doesn’t know) to comforting me after I had my heart broken, telling me no man who would break my heart deserved a part of it in the first place.

            I have so many fantastic memories of us singing in the car, ( my mum and brother couldn’t carry a tune to save their lives) watching every kind of sporting event together- me peppering him with questions about what the hell is going on, him using instant reply to teach what a 3-5 defense is.  Of us watching every kind of movie- To this day if movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day off, Top Gun, Used Cars, or Caddy Shack come on, we stop what we’re doing and watch. My mother is still at a complete loss why we do this. It would be wrong not to, is really the best answer.

            He showed me fathers don’t have to be stoic and stand on the sidelines of their children's lives. Not only was he a provider, he helped me with my homework, helped get me ready for school, (easy when I was younger- taking his two big hands and pulling all of my lion’s mane back into the world’s tightest pony tail. I of course found a way to destroy his work the minute I left the house). Came to my water polo games in high school, and when I achieved one of my dreams, working with SDSU at Qualcomm stadium- I called him from Jack Murphy field crying, asking him to come to my home games so he could see me work. He did- I don’t think he missed a game.

            He taught me to honor where we come from, him being such a great example of that. He lived through the JFK assassination, the Civil Rights Movement, the Moon Landing, Vietnam, Watergate,  all the way to 9/11, and being able to stand in our Nation’s capital with my mother by his side to see the first black president of the United States take his oath of office. Respect the past so we can be a better future, he taught me that.

            He stands as an example of being better than your circumstances, don’t limit your scope because you can’t quite see where you might end up. I’m sure when he left Pittsburg at the age of ten, he had no idea he would end up in San Diego, meeting the love of his life barely a year out of high school, that he would become a highly respected coach, then teacher, then principal. He had no idea how many lives he would change through his work and good deeds. Whenever the day comes that my father has to part this earth, the lives he touched and changed for the better will be a testament to the man I call my father.

            Thank you daddy, for helping me hone my sense of humor with In Living Color, SNL, Naked Gun, and so many stand up comedians. Thank you for helping teach me to love music, playing me the records of your youth and showing me there is nothing wrong with a grown man watching a musical. Thank you for holding me when I thought I was broken, and for being my champion. Thank you for being a dreamer- your dreams gave my brother and I the opportunity to be who we are.

Thank you. I love you. You’re a hard act to follow padre- anyone who stands by my side will have some big shoes to fill. I wouldn’t have it any other way.