I despise commercial holidays. I hate how much money Hallmark makes on their ill-written, horribly hokey Father's Day cards. I stood in the card section for 30 minutes reading through scores of cards, trying to find one that wasn't dripping in sap. The only thing that could ever bring me to celebrate such a holiday is the tremendous father I have in my life. Every year my siblings and I seem to miss the mark in honoring him the way he deserves. One year we did a "Father's Day Rap", written by my mother of all people. I'm sure you can imagine the disaster that was. Thank the true and living God no one has that on tape. I'm sure Curtis Blow would've been proud.

Besides looking very good for his age (betcha couldn't guess how old), there are so many compliments I have to give my father. He will always get my respect for being the main person to support me when I "ruined my life" by leaving college. I call my dad the "Fix-it Man" because he could build a shopping mall with three bobby pins and a socket wrench. Who needs Macguyver when you have your very own fix-it-man? I've come to adore and love my father more now in my adulthood than I did in my youth. These days I realize what a gift it is to have him alive, present, and active in my life.

The thing I appreciate most about him, is that he raised me in such a way that set me up to relate properly to my heavenly Father. When I was a child, he taught me how to depend on him for everything from finances to guidance. These are the same things for which I now depend on God. Above all, I am thankful to have someone in my life who is comfortable being at the center of my ridicule. There's no one better in life to poke fun at than your own dad. Let's start with the grey hair in his eyebrows. Now that's hilarious. When I really want to annoy him, I begin to count them. Happy Father's Day Daddy.