Okay first off, I love my mom and sister too, more than words. But my dad is the kind of dad that not every girl (and I’m going to take a stretch here and say that no other girl) has a dad even close to mine. He has a way to just talk to me with no words. My dad and I have a bond that is unique among parent and child and I would not trade it for anything else. From starting Tae-kwon-do when I was six-years-old and getting our black belts together eight years later, to the time he had his proudest father moment taking me to see Motley Crue as my first concert when I was twelve, I always knew we had something special.
He disciplines me with Tim Horton’s dates and bribes me with sparring matches. He excites me with a Game of Thrones session and disappoints me only when he doesn’t get my socks right after he does my laundry—even though I’m 20. But let me tell you, Rob sure can get rid of the most demonic stains with ease. He isn’t just my dad. He is my best friend. Like a true best friend. He doesn’t take my excuses, but he also does when he knows that I may need to hide in one every once in awhile. He makes me laugh harder than anyone ever has and probably ever will. He and I can literally be shedding tears in the middle of Tim Hortons until our faces turn red and, without a care in the world if people are staring or rolling their eyes, we stay and each and everyday we keep going back. My dad is someone who I keep nothing from and for some reason he still knows when I need to tell him something before I know it myself.
My dad is the kind of dad that tells me to be 45 minutes early for literally everything. He’s that guy who parks two kilometres from the building we are going into which used to annoy me to no end, especially if it’s -10 outside. The man never complains even though he only wears his favourite brown jacket that can’t possibly be warm enough, but it’s another walk beside each other we get to share. He will buy me a parka for the winter months and when I put it on to go outside he never fails to ask, “You sure you’re warm enough, J?” even though he talked me into getting the bigger, warmer coat at the store rather than the cute, fashionable one I was dead set on. When I come home from nights out with my friends and he’s been in bed for hours, I know he wasn’t fast asleep until I walked in the door, mostly because the man sleeps dangerously light, so sneaking out was never an option as a teenager. But as I stumble in, I can be sure to remember his advice of a tall glass of water and an Advil before bed (or pulling trig if I’m a real gonner) to avoid the hangover in the morning. As much as I hate to admit it, the man is never wrong. He may be the most selfless, surprisingly experienced person in the world and I am so grateful he is my father.
This man looks like Walter White from Breaking Bad and has resting grump face 98% of the time. But only people who are lucky enough to know him, know that he is probably only in deep thought about what to make his family for dinner, or how to arrange the cars in the driveway and garage so my mom can get into her warm jeep before work, even if it means his car is outside in the cold. Speaking of the Jeep, while teaching me to drive standard I’ll never forget the time he stalled it when we weren’t even driving and I may have laughed for an hour at Mr. Expert Driver. The guy gets a little too excited about Star Trek and I don’t think I could possibly forget the term “ncc1701” if I tried (which if you’re wondering—and you definitely aren’t, is the number for the USS Enterprise starship in the original Star Trek). Rob is a wild card to say the least.
My dad knows a little something about everything I need to know. But also, if I have a question about something as simple as the fridge making a sound, I best be prepared for the history of refrigeration and some anecdote about the fridge he had growing up. If I have an inquiry about something I need a lot of information about, I can be sure I’ll get a “Hm. I’m not too sure,” and get frustrated as he goes back to his computer watching what I think are youtube videos of Hapkido, but really he is researching for all the answers I need.
My dad is my hero and the biggest pain in my ass, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, if your best friend isn’t the biggest pain in your ass and your number one homie, are they even your best friend? The answer is absolutely not.