My Hero

All of my life that I can remember, I have had what I consider to be the perfect role model. I know he is not perfect. He is just a human I am blessed to call my dad.
My dad was not the disciplinary figure in our house. That duty was left to mom. They both had their strengths. Now every once in a while mom would get fed up with us and make the threat to us. You just wait until your dad gets home. To be totally honest that did not worry me as much as my mom getting after us. Dad would try but even if we were getting spanked by him he would be laughing about it. He knew kid were going to be kids. I think he grew up in a family of 11 or 12 kids himself.
If we wanted to go somewhere we would always go to dad first. He always said yes. Somewhere along the way this caused controversy between my parents because after a while we would get the answer to ask your mom. Dad always told mom if she was being to hard on us. He was our advocate. Sometimes it would cause an argument between my parents and they wouldn't talk for a few days.
He was quick to give you what you needed to get out of a jam. Fixed my cars more times than I can count. He would loan you money unconditionally. His heart is huge. I remember working for him and it was winter time and I was broke. I needed 20.00 to buy a wiper motor for my car. Him and mom were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. Mom says we don't have it. She got up and walked out the door and headed off  to work. When she was pulling out of the driveway,my dad reaches into his wallet and hands me a twenty dollar bill and says don't tell your mom. I never thought about whether I was putting him in a bind or not but that's the kind of man he is. He always put his kids first.
I worked hard for my dad to earn his respect. We worked together for 15 plus years. He could always depend on me to be at work because I didn't want to let him down. Any extra construction or roofing jobs he did away from work I was there to help him. We did not see eye to eye always. He has his way of doing things and that's the way he wants them done. But that's fair it was his reputation and name on the line with each job we did not mine. I miss those days often and our conversations to and from the job sites. That is what I treasure because none of my other siblings  got to know dad like that. I saw  a side that no one else did.
I remember how safe I felt with my dad at home. Whether it was him running around the house shutting windows during a bad storm or being a rock with the loss of immediate family members I felt safe. I can't ever remember panicking during a storm then like I do now. I'm supposed to be that rock.
My super hero never has to hide his secret identity I already know who he is. I realize how fortunate I am to have a man adopt me and two siblings raise us as his own with three of his own children. That is taking on a super size burden.
You will always be my example . I wish I could be more like you and less like me.
Love you dad Happy Fathers day