Ever since the day I was born my dad was there for me. Comforting me when I fell down or when I got hurt or was just having a bad day. And every night before I went to bed he knelt down beside my bed to pray that the angels watch over me and for sweet dreams. He always cheered me on when I was in sports even if I was bad at them. He always helped me practice to get better at them never using discouraging words to make me feel like I wasn't good enough. Never in my life did I feel those "I'm not good enough" feelings because I never was told I wasn't. See my dad didn't believe in them. He believed that you were always good at it if you wanted to be but sometimes practice could make you better.
When I was 12 I was in fast pitch softball. Haha, I couldn't catch a ball at all. And when I tried it would hit me right in the face and never in the mitt. My nose would always be bruised up from all my bad catching experiences but my dad still always told me I was so pretty and I did a great job in all my softball competitions. And he didn't just say it because "that's a parent's job" when he said it, he meant it and I could tell.
One day we were driving back from the city after my cousin's graduation party. It was me, my mom, dad, and my twin sister. We were going down a one way when suddenly a drunk driver started coming down the opposite direction. He was going 100 mph and whirling all over the road. We didn't have time to stop or speed up out of the way, it all happened so quickly. Right into the driver's side of our car he smashed sending the car rolling into the other lane and then it was dark. The next thing I know I'm awake in the hospital with my sister on the other side of the curtain that divides the room. My mom was sitting in a corner with my grandparents. I remember my mom had a cast on her leg and was bruised up badly. My sister was in the bed across the room sleeping. I looked at my mom and her eyes started to tear.
I automatically assumed it was her leg still hurting so I tried to comfort her by saying, "Don't worry Mom, I'll ask the doctors if they can bring you a pain reliever." She kind of smiled and said, "I'll be fine," then I dozed off. A couple hours later I woke to find my sister watching TV and then a doctor came in and asked if she could talk to us for a minute. My grandpa walked over and turned off the TV. I remember it like it was yesterday. The horrible words that escaped her mouth killed me inside she said, "Your dad's . . . gone." The whole room seemed to spin with tears as if there was theme music in the background to make it worse.
As I write this story my stomach shakes as I think, "What if this story wasn't my imagination what if it was real?" I know many times as teenagers especially we seem to take are parents for granted but what if this was you, what if this really did happen to me? I know how I put it off and say glad it wasn't me! But you never know when your last day is will be. I've come to see that the real words to live by are, "Live every day as it's your last." Friendship is a really powerful thing and when it leaves it takes part of you with it. Now with Father's Day, there are a lot of children who don't have their fathers with them and it's not easy. The best present you could ever give your father this Father's Day is a big hug and a, "I love you Dad."
