I am one blessed woman. I have two dads. Two very different dads who play two entirely different roles in my life. One thing is for certain: I am loved by both of them. I also often say that God knew it was going to take two dads to raise me, and God is the Higher Power!
Dads are amazing creatures. Providers, protectors, strength. They are wise and smart and incredible leaders and pillars. Sometimes they are quiet. Even awkward. And sometimes, downright embarrassing (remember when you were a kid and your father-figure did something to embarrass you on purpose?)
Dads are SO different. Some are pranksters, jokesters, and silly. Some are solemn and full of wisdom. Many are loud; many are quiet. There's one thing that is constant: love. Whether it is your birth father, your step-father, your grandfather, or your male neighbor or educator, I hope that someone played a father figure role in your life.
Dads also make me laugh. And laughter is one of my most favorite things to do. So, I asked for stories to share of dad figures who impacted your life and you did not disappoint! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.
Also, thanks to all the dads who are active in their children's lives, and the dads that did not have to be dads - the men who took children under their wings, was a role model, provider, or a shoulder to lean on. Both types of dads are incredible humans!
I also want you to know - you have a heavenly Father that loves you more than you will ever comprehend! He is our creator and knows every hair on your head. He finds you a treasure, valued beyond measure.
Howard Pruitt submitted by Lesa Patel I would like to tell you about my amazing father Howard Pruitt. He was born with polio in 1941, and, at the age 6 he spent three years at the Harry Anna crippled children's home in Umitilla, Florida. And, my dads' polio has never held him back, he has always been one determined to over come whatever obstacles that was placed before him, from learning to walk, he played football, taught scuba diving, he also got his pilots license and learned to sky dive.
My dad worked hard working two jobs trying to support and raise my brother age 8 and
myself age 6 in which the court appointed custody to him at that time and, had no help from anyone.
He worked for the Marion County School board ... starting out washing school buses and quickly moved up to typewriter/computer repair tech and retired from there after 33 years, His second job was a cashier at ABC liquor in the evenings.
My dad has always gone above and beyond to provide and help everyone around him.
Funny story my dad had me out on a golf course to teach me a few things about golfing, one day we were out on the golf cart and, my dad said just slow down next to your ball and, I will pick it up on the way by… well, he fell out of the golf cart laughing saying “ try not to do that, okay onto to the next hole. 😂🤣
Dad
Submitted by Jenn Sutton
My father took me fishing when I was 7 years old. We got all ready, packed up the car and off we went to the lake. I had never been fishing before and was nervous and excited! We got to the lake, set up our spot and got out our poles. My Dad told me we had to bait the hook and proceeded to give me a worm. Repulsed and freaked out, I took the worm and then watched as he showed me how to put it on the hook. I was horrified but he convinced me to do it on my own. It was horrible but done and in the water went the hook. In only 10 minutes, there was a tug on my pole and I started yelling! My Dad came over and helped me reel in my catch! I was so excited... Until out of the water came my fishin line with an EEL on the end of it! (It gets worse) My Father, being the jokester he is, yells, "Oh no! It's the mommy worm coming to get you for hooking the baby worm!". Well, I cried the whole way home and have NEVER fished again! Happy Father's Day Dad!
Mr. Jon Norman
Submitted by Jennifer Casper
Mr. Jon was my neighbor from when I was six years old 'til he passed away from cancer when I was in 10th grade. I loved him like a father. This is one of my favorite stories of him. When I was younger there was a large tree in my front yard. Perfect for reading books and listening to music. Well, my neighborhood friends climbed up while I usually stayed on solid ground. Well, one day I get the courage to go up and when i got to the top it was more than I could have dreamed! Keep in mind I was about 7 or 8 so my dreams were a little smaller scale. Well I had been up in the tree for a while and I was ready to get down. But while I knew how to get up, I had no idea how to get down. Also, I was (and still am) terrified of heights. So I attempted about four times to get down on my own but couldn’t get the nerve. So a few tears fell down my cheeks and then I started making plans on how to survive the rest of my life in this tree. Well, around that time Mr. Jon drove up our cul-da-sac in his big white truck like the knight In shining armor he was. I slouched down in the tree hoping he wouldn’t see me. He got out of the truck and fiddled with a few things before casually looking my way. I slouched as hard as I could but nothing got by Mr. Jon. So he walks over to the tree and says “Whatcha doing?” And I said “reading!” And as I went to show Him my book it fell all the way to the ground. He then says “what are you doing now?” And I said “enjoying the sights.” He laughed and said “well why don’t you come down and get your book and then you can get back to reading?” I said “no, I’m fine!” I wasn’t going to admit I was stuck! So he said “alrighty, I guess I’ll leave you to it!” And slowly started walking away at a snails pace. I started to cry. He turned only his head and whispered “you’re stuck, ain’t you?” I nodded yes and he walked back over and showed me step by step how to get down. He even caught me when I slipped on the last foot grip. I would love to say that was the last time he had to help me out of that tree but that would be a lie. He had to come rescue me at least three more times. Mr. Jon was so much like a father to me. Although it’s been almost 15 years since he passed i think of Him often and how much he did for me in those early days of my life. And to this day when i see kids climbing in trees I think of Mr. Jon saving me from mine.
My Daddy Robert Submitted by Jennifer Casper
My daddy is a tall man who has been described by my friends as “mafia man.” He’s at least 6’1” and so strong that when we were kids he picked up a treadmill (still in the box but heavy) and carried it one handed like a server carries a tray in a busy restaurant. My daddy looks scary to an unknown person. But in reality he’s a goofy goober. He’s so gentle and loving with my dogs. And while he’s a terrible singer if you play an Elton John song or maybe some Beatles you are in for a treat of what some would call howling but my daddy calls singing. Happy Father’s Day to my daddy! And with it being summer he’s really my lobster dad since he likes to burn his skin to a bright red color any chance he gets! He’s a bit crazy but we love him!
Charles
Submitted by Jennifer Casper
Just wanted to give a shout out to my father-in-law Charles. He’s a great man who will do anything for anyone. He’s a serious man with a heart of gold. And you better believe when his great nieces hand him a baby doll he’s going to protect the baby doll like its His own. Only problem is he may not give it back when his niece wants it back. He'll say “nope, this my baby now. Get your own.” And then proceeds to spoil the baby doll with treats and the occasional snuggle. He’s the best father-in-law I could ask for. And I’m so proud of my husband for following his daddy’s example of what a man should be.
Franklin Cartledge
Submitted by Sheila Logan
My mom and dad have been divorced sinse I was 2 which was a long time ago lol anyway he would come visit us he lives in South Carolina and take us to see his family while he was here also he took me and my best friend Dawn Hamby to the fair and we were about 10 years old so we rode some rides then we played a dart game to win a teddy bear of coarse we didn’t win so we went and rode some more rides so my daddy said we could try the game one more time so we did and low and behold we both won a bear needless to say I didn’t realize that he paid the man for those bears he never told me but I figured it out later and right now we play a game on the cell phone together and he is ahead of me he has learned all the cheating traits I haven’t learned as of yet I texted him yesterday and asked him what I did to him because he was attacking me lol I am glad to have him as my daddy and am blessed he is still with me I love playing the game with him so we keep in touch My Daddy is a wonderful Man I love him with all my heart.
My father Bruce McCullough
Submitted by Chris Walker
We kids share this story and still laugh about it today. Imagine the early 1980s, where you can cram 4 kids in the backseat of an old Buick Regal and travel down the road. Also imagine the noise 4 kids in the backseat of a Regal can make in a small car. So one day we were traveling home and we kids - my 2 sisters, myself, and step-brother - were all laughing and giggling in the backseat. We laughed a lot growing up, us four. For some reason, this night's laughter was irritating to my dad, all of our laughter. As kids, we are oblivious if something is wrong, so perhaps my dad and step-mom had argued; perhaps he was tired of the loud noise, perhaps another external event had occurred. Regardless, he wanted our volume down. Like any father, he asked politely. Then a little more firm. Then stern. All of his requests returned void, as we continued to raise our little kid laughter louder and louder, until he couldn't stand it anymore.
We were traveling down the interstate and in his frustration, he slammed on brakes and hastily pulled over into the emergency lane with an abruptness. "Brrrrp. Brrrrp. Brrrrp." The sounds of the tires on the indentions in the emergency lane vibrated the entire car. Wide-eyed, all four of us children went silent. We KNEW we had reached his limit and this time, dad was not playing.
He reached to the steering column, threw the car in park, put his arm on the back of the front seat and turned around to look us directly in the eyes. Red in the face, voice raised, he loudly reprimanded us by saying, "I SAID STOP YOUR LAUGHLING!"
Silent Pause. Then an explosion of laughter from all four of us.
Notice the word? Laughling. Not laughing, but laughling. In his irritation and admonition, he got tongue twisted and misspoke the word laughing.
Needless to say, we kids have NEVER laughed so hard in our life. Uncontrollable, roaring laughter, the kind that makes your head fall back, your little bodies shakes, and tears stream down your face.
Dad turned around, put the Regal in drive, and never spoke another word the rest of the night. I can still see the veins protruding from his neck in anger - only this time at himself!
*we ALL laugh about this to this day!*
My dad David Johnston
submitted by Chris Walker
For my 30th birthday, I wanted to rent a cabin in the mountains to celebrate with my family. That weekend, that entire weekend, was absolutely full of laughter, comedy, and comedy of errors.
At the time my niece was about 10 yrs old, and, well, I am a sucker for a child. On the way home from the mountains, we stopped at a convenience store for some gas. There was a life-size Clydesdale horse made of plastic in the front, advertising Budweiser. Clydesdales are huge, if you have never seen one close, even a plastic one. It was sitting on a trailer which was anchored down by a cinder block and chain. This trailer was one axel, which mean the wheels were placed in the middle of the trailer as opposed to two axels which would have had both front and back wheels and balanced a bit differently. Imagine a see-saw, if you will; that's how this trailer was designed. with only a 15 lb cinderblock weighting the front down.
My niece Sarah jumped out of the car in excitement over the life-size horse, and asked G-Daddy (my dad) if she could go see it. She loved horses at the time and was enthralled. G-Daddy told her no, it was an advertisement and she didn't need to go over there. Inside the store he heads, and Sarah stood with disappointment.
Remember...I am a sucker for a child. I saw no reason why she couldn't go see the plastic horse, so I grabbed her hand and together we set off. She was smiling, skipping, and happy. I walked her over, she stood in disbelief at the size, and we took some pics. Dad finished his store purchase and walked outside, finding us by the horse. As he walked towards me, I explained that it was not a fragile horse and I felt it was fine for her to see it. Dad relaxed, realized I was probably right, and proceeded to admire the size and detail of the Clydesdale.
Here's where things took a twist. Dad, not having paid ANY attention to the trailer the horse was attached to, decided he wanted to step up on the trailer and get a picture of himself with the horse for size comparison. Brilliant idea, except he stepped onto the back of the trailer to get on it.
What happens to a see-saw when a heavier person sits on it? It goes down, right?
As my dad grabbed onto the back of the horse's legs for leverage to pull himself onto the trailer, his weight shifted the trailer, therefore bringing the trailer into a see-saw motion. The side he was holding went down, the front went up, as if the horse was standing on two legs, and my dad was holding onto the legs. His head went straight into the horse's behind!
I happened to have the camera in my hand and snapped the pic at the exact perfect time...with my dad's head disappeared into the horse's bottom, and it standing on its hindlegs. It was the time of developed film, not cell phone pics, so I couldn't easily find it to share, but the image will forever be engrained in my head. I laughed so hard at his mistake that I think I peed my pants! He was mortified with embarrassment, and almost ran back to the car. I am laughing now as I type this memory! (and he is going to kill me for sharing this story!)
Dad Submitted by Rebecca Hill
I would ask for “stuff”. He would tell me to poop in one hand and wish in the other hand.
Ralph
submitted by Aggie Watson
Years ago when my dad was teaching me how to drive, he took me to an empty parking lot. The first thing he had me check was the brakes. Well I hit the brakes and his head hit the windshield. The air was blue and we continued the driving test. It wasn’t until after he passed and I was sharing this memory with my sisters that we discovered that we each had the same experience!! He brought laughter from beyond!! God love our fathers!!
Ronald
Submitted by Angela Hunt
I remember growing up my daddy worked hard to provide for us of what we needed. He always loved anything that we made him and kept them all our lives. He is truly a fighter and has overcome so many obstacles throughout his life. I remember he wanted to take us to see the laser show at Stone Mountain when we were growing up. We didn’t have the money to go into the park but we went and parked on the side of the road outside the park and watched it from there. Which was awesome. I am thankful that God gave me such an awesome Father. I love him so much.
Comentarios