My Dad. He’s Simply the Best.

My dad takes a lot of crap in our family. We make fun of his terribly corny jokes. We tease him about his constant need to photograph every living creature, animal and plant. And we harass him about his obsession with all makes and models of computer gadgets.

But, the truth is, the guy is pretty amazing.

When I went through a divorce many moons ago, I called him to tell him that I was horribly nervous to go see a divorce attorney by myself. He called me back ten minutes later with a ticket purchased and flew down the next day to come with me.

When I freaked out about my computer getting a virus and taking away all my hard work and writing, he spent hours on the phone with me walking me through fixing it and telling me to breathe every time I felt the strong desire to hyperventilate (which was every 2-3 minutes).

When he comes to visit and sees that I’m once again out of printer cartridges, he sneaks to the store and buys a few extra to hold me over until the next time he comes.

When I call him and say, “How are you doing?” he always answers, “Chip, Chip, Chipper!”

When I was a little girl, every Sunday he would buy the paper at the local deli and always bring me home a Kit Kat and slip it across the table so my mother wouldn’t see.

When I found my amazing husband and remarried, he cried at my wedding when we danced and told me how much he loved me and my new husband.

And when I see him with his grandchildren, he brings such a smile to my face. Everything he does with them, he did with us. From horsey rides to bad magic tricks. I’m now seeing it again through their eyes. And it’s awesome.

So happy Father’s Day, Dad. As Tina Turner said, while shaking her hips and showing a ridiculous amount of toned leg, “You’re simply the best.”