Always good for a smile

I am a daddy’s girl. And with June being the month of Father’s Day, I keep thinking about the reasons why I am a daddy’s girl. Here are three of those reasons, and I hope to learn from them so I can encourage others.

Always there

Whether it was to attend my softball games or tennis matches, or to answer the tough spiritual question I asked two minutes before bedtime, my dad always tried to make time to support me, encourage me, and help me. Growing up, Mom, Dad, and I regularly prayed together at night. In my college years, my dad still made time to play tennis, discuss questions, and help with homework.

For one college class, I had to make something to contribute to a Basque website the class was building. I decided to create a Basque recipe book and include my own photos. My dad made 10 complete dishes so I could take the photos of the process and finished products.

Today he’s still ready to sit and talk, encourage, and advise at any time I call, Skype, or drop in for a visit.

Asked questions

When I had to write papers for my classes, particularly from junior high on, I asked my father to proofread them. And it never failed — when he reached the end of a paper, he always turned to me and asked, “All these facts are good, but what does Tiffany think?”

When there were no required papers, and I just had a question about a topic I was learning about in school or in my Bible studies, or a question that came up when I let my mind wander, our conversations would boil down to, “What does Tiffany think?”

“Well, the facts say…”

“I know what the facts say, what the researchers discovered, what the scholars think. What does Tiffany think?”

Didn't matter if the paper or question was for art, history, English, Bible, or any other subject — he would try and push me to think critically and to draw my own conclusions from the information I collected.

Always good for a smile or laugh

If you've ever met my dad, then you’ll know that asking him, “how are you?” triggers quite the unexpected response – “Sweet, lovable, brave, clean, reverent, kind, considerate, astute, adroit, alert, and as humble as always,” surprises the asker. Why this unique response? To create a smile.

My father is also not afraid of being silly. Many times Mom has referred to Dad and me as her two children, especially when we goof around in the checkout line at the grocery store. One of Dad’s favorite phrases is “Always growing older, never growing old.”

At West Coast Honor Camp, a camper and counselor favorite game is “Steal the Bacon” (directions here), only played with inner tubes instead of beanbags. One thing about this game at this camp: it quickly escalates into a tug-of-war wrestling match. One particular year where we played this game, my father was at camp with a brace on his chest to protect several cracked ribs. When they had a round for the leaders to play, can you guess where he was? Yep, right smack in the middle, brace and all. Mom wasn’t laughing, but the campers were, and he was.

I love my dad, and I hope one day I can pray, encourage, help, and make others smile, just like him.

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