WWDD

Ah, the old 'What Would Jesus Do' bracelet...  Nice!

Unfortunately, the only thing this post shares with WWJD is the fact that three of the four letters are identical - one letter in today's post has been replaced by another.

Today is Father's Day! 

On this day, I submit to you that while keeping the teachings of Jesus (insert the name of any religious 'entity' or 'belief' you may follow here) as the basis for my / our / your moral compass is critical to our national / personal well-being, I ask that you consider changing one letter today in honor of my / your Dad.

WWDD = What Would Dad Do?

The reality is that I ask myself this particular question daily.  This isn't a Father's Day 'specific event' because to me - every day is Father's Day. 

Why? 

Because every day I think about my Dad (yes, you too Mom, but you know, it's Father's Day, soooo...).

I remember the things my Dad taught me. 

I remember the things he showed me.

I learned what it is to be a 'Dad' from my Dad.

Consider the following examples of what being a Dad 'is':

• If you always take care of your family first - 'other stuff' will get done if it's important enough to spend your time on, 
• If you realize that being a Dad (or Mom) is the most important job there is,
• If your youngest son decides to test whether a plastic bottle of shampoo is truly 'Unbreakable' (it's what the 'Ad' said!) by repeatedly hitting it into the living room carpet until it shatters and showers shampoo onto a carpeted area roughly the size of Rhode Island and you DO NOT murder the child,
• If you let your youngest son get a dog when he's in High School and then adopt the dog as your own when he moves away to seek 'adventure', 
• If your youngest son's dog escapes out the back door on Thanksgiving and you spend the next hour (although, it could have been longer) walking through the potato fields behind the house shouting her name until your voice is gone,
• If this very same dog returns 'on her own' later Thanksgiving day covered in mud, wrapped in potato vines, and loaded with those 'sticky ball' things that get caught in fur and all you say is, "I'm glad she's back",
• If you go on a Boy Scout camp out and your son and the next-door-neighbor kid pitch their tent in a spot (which turns out to be a low-spot) and it begins to pour during the night and the tent begins to flood and you drag them from their soaked tent and put them into your dry tent,
• If you then move your stuff into their already-compromised tent to spend the rest of the night in because there's not enough room for you and them in your warm & dry tent,
• If the first time your son sees you cry is at his wedding,
• If you tear up when you renew your wedding vows with your family present at your 50th Wedding Anniversary,

If any of the above situations apply to you, you are an awesome Dad.

Happy Father's Day Dad! 

Thanks for making it look easy when it wasn't. 

Thanks for knowing when to step in and when to stand back. 

Thanks for always being there when it matters the most.

Bottom line is... 

Thanks for being the guy I will always call, 'Dad'. 

I'm a lucky kid.