My Dear Old Dad.

My future husband MUST be like my dad, except for maybe taller, but he must possess most, if not all the qualities my dad possesses because my daddy is simply awesome. Awesomely so. I’m one of those girls that still calls her dad; “daddy” and will continue to do so because you just never stop being daddy’s girl. I’ve always believed your husband must remind you of the best qualities of your father, if you have that kind of dad and if not, he should be the kind of wonderful father that your sons should want to be like and your daughters want to marry. My daddy is that kind of man.

He is so full of life, love and laughter, he is the kind of person that can liven up a room within two minutes of walking in. The kind of person you would want at a party because the laughs will never stop. Recently a cousin and I were reminiscing about our days growing up and a lot of the fondest memories included my dad. He then said, “I love your dad, he is so kind”. And that is true, my dad is kind to a fault, generous to an even bigger fault even though he doesn’t have much to give, he’ll give you the shirt off his back. Being an only child, he is also spoilt to a fault, he can’t put the kettle on but he insists on bathing with scorching hot water, can’t make a cup of tea to save his life but he loves a cuppa. He’s cheeky and he loves a good laugh and all my friends used to love having him around. I don’t get to see him often, geography being one of the reasons as we reside in two different continents 6,000 miles apart but we talk often enough and he always makes me laugh within the first minute into our conversation, whatever it is, no matter how quick the call can be. I promise to call more daddy.

My parents divorced over fifteen years ago but they have remained very good friends on very good terms, that’s the kind of man my daddy is, no fuss, no drama. A sentence from a song Fela’s sums up my dad; water e no get enemy. In other words, you cannot shun water and it has no enemies, if you want to beef with water the joke is on you. In all my life I cannot remember anyone quarrelling with my dad, even when my parents divorced, it was most amicable.

Fathers don’t often get enough of the acknowledgements due to them, not as much as mothers get, but for the men out there being wonderful to their children, stepping up to the mark- late night feedings, soccer saturday practise, fly fishing, bike riding, late night talks, even chastisement, and all the other moments in our lives that we will love, maybe loathe you a little for, we say thank you. From the bottom of our hearts thank you.

Happy Father’s Day.

xo.