Meet My Dad

This father's day weekend I want to wish all dads a happy father's day and put the spotlight on my Dad. Born in 1938 in Jeffersonville, Indiana my dad was the first of five children. Patrick Mickael made his way from Indiana to California at the ripe old age of sixteen. He worked odd jobs and even drove a hearse to put himself through school until he was accepted to West Point.

He graduated from West Point in June 1961, he married my mom in November of 1962 and I arrived in December of 1963. I am a self proclaimed daddy's girl. In my eyes he taught me everything that I think I know about life. We rode horses together, we hiked Minnewaska and swam at the falls. He was never afraid to "talk" to a guy I was dating. He taught me how to drive in his convertible MG. He bailed me out a few times when I got in trouble and always made it clear I wasn't to do that again.

My dad was a decorated career army infantry man, a great strategist, a great teacher, an amazing dad, an accomplished artist and one of the smartest people I will ever know.

Maya Angelou can often sum things up better than most of us word smiths. A quote that she gave in an interview with USA Today on March 5, 1988 which I found in a USA Today dot com Article from May 28, 2014, "13 of Maya Angelou's Best Quotes" I think says a lot about how I feel about my dad.

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest". - Maya Angelou

That just feels like something my dad would have said. He always saw everyone's potential and encouraged them not to waste an opportunity to be "better". My dad had a lot of courage.

I hope your dad is awesome in your eyes and you don't forget to show him how awesome you think he is this weekend. Believe it or not dad's need hugs too!