| 06/2006 - Simply the Best |
By: By Ashley Driggs - June 2006
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It’s said that a woman with a great father most often marries a man like her dad. It was true for me. My dad is the best in the world (yeah, yeah, I know yours is too), and my husband is just like him. I know this because I’ve heard my kids tell him that he’s the best dad in the world.
I’m the youngest of three in my family — the youngest by five years. Needless to say, I wasn’t always included in things simply by virtue of age difference. But, somehow my dad always made it OK. If my older brother and sister were off doing “big kid” things, my dad made a point of getting down on my level so we could do something fun — just me and him — be it playing Barbies or playing cards.
As we all got older and my siblings began going out on Friday nights with their friends but I was still too young, my dad would run up the street to the local grocer’s and get me one of their deluxe, homemade, chocolate-chocolate chip cookies and come home and sit with me over a glass of milk while I ate it.
When my sister left for college and I was the last one at home, my dad gave me space to adjust and opportunities to be included. And, it was during that time — from eighth to 12th grade — that solidified to me who my best friends were (and still are) — my dad and mom. The three of us would stay up late watching movies, or go on countless college visits together, more for the chance to vacation together than because the college was one I was interested in. If it meant a weekend trip to St. Louis all in the name of “college consideration,” we were there, making memories that still make us laugh today.
When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, it was my dad that I shared the news with first, aside from my husband, of course. I was excited, but scared — how could I possibly care for a little baby when I was still a child at heart myself? And, it was my dad who eased my concerns and calmed my fears. It was the simplicity of his words yet the complexity of their meaning that I still carry in my heart today. He said, “I know it’s a little scary, but once that baby comes into the world, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.” And, as always, he was right.
Some six years later, I’m raising three boys with my husband, the aforementioned “best dad.” I’m not sure what it’s like to have a daughter, but I can only imagine the shoes any man in her life would have to fill to meet the standards that my husband is setting. So, instead of a daughter, I’ve got three future best dads-in-training, and I know that some day they’ll do me proud. Some day, they’ll be playing with Barbies (and my husband will be fine with that : )) or taking college trips with their children, and they’ll subsequently be securing their spots in the Best Dads Hall of Fame. And, that’s not just a proud mama talking. That’s a woman, mother, wife and daughter who is speaking from lots of happy experience.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the best dads out there!
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