Happy Father's Day

Travis Hughes over at Broad Street Hockey wrote a post about Father's Day and it inspired me to do the same.

I'm going to let Richter1994 say what I want to say because he said it quite well in a comment today:

Happy Father’s Day to all that this applies to. I am very fortunate to have both my father and father-in-law and in good health for their respective ages. It is usually the moms that get a lot of credit for their kids as they usually spend the most time with them, but it is my dad that taught me the things that I needed in life to become as good and as successful a person as possible. Love you dad and thank you.

And please keep the fathers who are no longer here in your thoughts and prayers and the children who no longer get to enjoy them. I’m sure that applies here to some and I hope you get through this day thinking of the good times you spent with your dad.

Oh, who am I kidding, I want to say something too.

Hockey, for me, has always been about family. For me hockey started in my family room watching Rangers games and playing knee hockey with Little Tykes hockey sticks that became deadly weapons in the hands of my brothers and I. I can't tell you how many slashes and spears I took from a hockey stick made by a company that specialized in toys for toddlers but I promise you that the number easily approaches quadruple digits. While my brothers (five of them) and I waged war on one another my father patiently watched the television over the fracas after a long, hard day of work in the city. He seldom complained or gave us any grief and only made us stop when someone got hurt ("YOU RUINED IT!") or when a hard foam ball very nearly hit him while he was enjoying his dinner.

My dad's tolerance for our shenanigans was the perfect incubator for my brothers love of hockey to infect and possess me. After hockey got its meathooks into me my father took joy in how much my brothers and I loved the game and loved discussing it with him. I distinctly remember him correcting the way I said "Eddie Giacomin" several times. He enjoyed the game through us and loved to see us love something. In many ways he is the reason I love hockey as much as I do to this day.

I can't tell you how often I wish I could tell my dad thank you for everything he provided for me and taught to me. I can't tell you how often I wish I spent more time talking to him and just absorbing everything I could from him. More than anything I wish I told him that I loved him every single day. Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to say those things because my dad is no longer with us. What I do get to do is laugh at the memories that defined my childhood and shaped my sense of humor. I get to thank him and love him for everything he was and that he did for me by remembering him and keeping him in my heart.

Call your dad and let him know you love him. Also, don't be a jackass, tell your Mom while you're at it. If you can't tell your dad that because he is no longer with us please enjoy his memory today in whatever way you feel is appropriate.

Wishing you all a very happy Father's Day. Thank you to all the dads in the world who silently do what they have to do everyday to make this world a better place for their families. Thank you for all of your love, sacrifice, knowledge, humor, and guidance.

Happy Father's Day guys and girls.