What I Really Meant to Say...

I hate when things come out like I DIDN'T mean for them to, and even more so, I can't stand it when someone points it out to me. If there's anything I hate more than keeping my thoughts to myself, it's having those thoughts questioned. Then again, it shows me how much people care about me and how much we've grown as friends... So much so that you are willing to wear me out on a particular subject. That's what true friends do.

I might have come across sounding like a spoiled brat when I discussed my weekend trip to the Tractor Pull, which wasn't my intention at all, although I know how much of a brat I am. I didn't mean to offend anyone in any way by talking about farming, rednecks, or the country. Those things are who I am and where I'm from... My point was to show how much I had changed in seeing how blessed I was to have a father who farms. When I was in middle school, I remember how badly I wanted attention, and at the time, I didn't think it would be cool telling friends what my dad did. I couldn't be more proud of him today.

I love the fact that my dad was ALWAYS there for my family. He never missed an opportunity to watch me cheer, hear my sister and me sing in choir, or simply spend time with us. My dad was ALWAYS there for me. He was my best friend, and though at times I felt like he was living out the Alabama song lyrics, "I'm in a hurry to get things done," I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I could depend on my dad. He was my best friend even though I wasn't exactly thrilled to share that with the friends I was DYING to make back in my school days.

I am proud of who my father is, what he does, and how he's gotten to where he is. My last post was to prove how this weekend helped me to realize just exactly how proud I am. I am so thankful I'm just like him. My eyes, my heart, my love of a good car, the thrill I get from watching sports, my humility, my need for getting things done and quickly, my independence, my hard head, my work ethic, the speed at which I drive, my liking in fishing and sleeping, my bad habits of being not so girly (those of you who know me will understand this), my sense of humor, my determination for perfection and completion in all I do... All of these parts of me I share with and got from my daddy. I did not mean to sound as if I didn't love my dad, because I do with all of my heart. He is my best friend, and I'm not ashamed to say so. What I really meant to say is that I didn't always appreciate what my dad did, and that as I've gotten older and less self-centered, I see how great of a father I have. His job, the farming, has shaped him into the man he is and what inevitably he used to mold me into the person I am becoming today.