Daddy's Girl.

I just got off the phone with my dad. Usually when I call, I cry after we hang up. It's not because he makes me sad or angry or anything like that. It's sort of hard to articulate. And I guess it sort of makes me seem like a cry baby (but I have no problem with that).

During the weeks before I left for school this year, I tried my best to make things easier on him. When his wife (formerly known as my mother) decided to take a disgustingly selfish trip to the Philippines, I sacrificed the remainder of my summer break staying at home babysitting, making sure dinner (that I cooked myself) was on the table and the kids were in bed by nine. When I left, my dad had to use his vacation days watching the kids and taking care of the household until his wife came back. Though the term wife is only in title and not in behavior -- however, that's a whole other blog.

I think my dad is the greatest man in the world. He may not be the most educated or the most wealthy or any other thing that society today attributes to greatness. But he has been the greatest example of what it means to sacrifice. He works damn hard to make sure that his family is provided for. He puts us before himself always. In the 20 years that he's lived in the United States, he's only had a vacation once. That vacation was for three weeks in the Philippines after he retired from the Navy in 2002. 20 years. 1 vacation. Every time I tell him that he should take a vacation, he just brushes it off. But every time he mentions that his back hurts or that he's tired, it literally breaks my heart.

He always says, "I just want you guys to have a good life." That's why he works so hard. That's why he sacrifices so much. That's why he puts us before himself.

I'm just really grateful to have a father like him. A great deal of my drive and determination has a lot to do with showing my dad that all of his hard work is for good reason. That he didn't do it for nothing. I want to graduate from college, get my degrees, raise a family -- all to make him proud. To become half as great a parent and provider that my dad is would make my heart content.

One of the best things about my dad is that simple things make him happy. I guess he doesn't want annual vacations. He spends his days off cooking his famous calamari, with a bottle of MGD in one hand and the mic for our karaoke system in the other hand. He's a simple man. Small things like getting compliments on his cooking or watching fishing videos on YouTube or even buying clothes on sale for really cheap make him really happy.

I don't really know where I was going with this. But I guess I just wanted to talk about it because it has been on my mind since the end of the summer. And because I was crying and needed to just type it all out.

Now everyone knows why I'm so proud to be a Daddy's Girl. ♥