I love my dad. He’s one of the best human being I know, very selfless in the way his Catholic faith (tried and failed to pass that on to me) taught him to be. He’s certainly not without his flaws, but we all deal with misguided decisions and personality quirks. I had a rebellious teenage phase for sure and didn’t appreciate him, but all it took was a few years living outside the house to put my head on straighter. He informs a lot about what it means to be masculine for me: strong, helpful, quiet, supportive. focused on family but at the same time not embarrassed by perhaps less manly things he did like love his farm cats, be a huge Trekkie (didn’t pass that on to me either) and loves to watch romantic comedies with my mom. When his doctor told him he had to lose weight for his health, he lost the weight through denying himself a lot of his vices (most notably sugary soda).

I hope my son sees me half as well I see him.