Father’s Day 2017: Influential Men

Happy Father’s Day! I have some truly incredible men in my life, and I want to share a bit about each of them.

Daddy

I’m a daddy’s girl. He always calls me his “little buddy”, even though I’m 25 years old now. Growing up, I just always wanted to help him. I’d put desks together, or help him hang something. This year for Christmas, I got him a shirt that says “Keep Calm and Papa Will Fix It”, which is true both with broken things as well as unfortunate situations. I had a run in with a roommate that involved a police report (long story), and he drove to Athens twice in less than 24 hours to be with me and the police officer and help me move out of my apartment. On my sister’s wedding day, I did a pretty good job of keeping it together until I saw my dad trying to keep it together. Now that he has his first granddaughter, he’s even more of a “softy”. He even sleeps in the basement with Olivia (his fur grandpup) whenever they (he and my mom) watch her for me.

Not only is my dad a great dad and papa, he’s an awesome husband and example for a love I hope to find one day. He never stops trying to make my mother happy. After 34 years of marriage, the first thing he does when he comes home at the end of the day is kiss my mom hello. I’ve seen it happen too. Even with Olivia jumping at him to greet him, he still makes it to my mom first. They always say that you’ll marry a man like your dad…I really hope that my future husband has some comparable qualities.

Grandpa

Don’t even get me started on Grandpa. I like to claim that I’m his favorite, though my cousin Catlin really takes the cake on that one. This man has such a big heart at 90 years old. He’s a World War II veteran, and wears a pristine hat displaying such everywhere. It’s often that someone will come up to him and thank him for his service…he gets bashful and teary eyed every time. I could listen to him talk for hours. He has so many stories to tell. The man’s last name is Lassourreille, but he’s one of the most Italian men in our family.

For my grandparents’ 50th anniversary, we were all lucky enough to be on a cruise together. I mean ALL of us…cousins, aunts, uncles…we all wore these lime green tshirts the first day too. We were THOSE people. We set it up that my grandparents would have the opportunity to renew their vows on the ship. My sweet grandfather was moved to tears, professing his love for his wife again. I really hope I find a man who loves like my grandpa does.

Aaron

It’s no secret that Aaron and I didn’t get off to the best start. It was Easter 2013, and my sister and I were both meeting the respective boyfriends at brunch. I barely knew the guy, and the first thing he does is make fun of my eating habits! Who does that? Fast forward four years, and he’s still around. I’m really glad that he is. It’s pretty entertaining to see him as a father now too. He and Ellie are just adorable together. We’ve joked that he hasn’t taken a hand off of her since he got back in April. Man, does he love my sister too. I love her, but it takes a lot to not be related to her and love her the way that he does.

I was most impressed and grateful around my breakup and since. I didn’t grow up with a brother, so it was interesting to see the burly, “I’ll kick the crap out of that kid” come out. Don’t get me wrong, my sister has had that down for years, but it was nice to see him being so protective of me. He was in training at the time of my move, but wanted to fly out to come help.

Uncle Mark

In my family, Uncle Mark is the man you call if you ever get onĀ Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Honestly, he knows everything about everything, I swear. He reads constantly (like a lot of those in our family), and must just absorb every fact. He’s also such a wonderful father and husband. I’ve been privileged to be at three of his children’s weddings (one, I was young and in school), and I have never seen a man so proud to be expanding his family.

Mike

Mike is my godfather, husband to sweet Linda, and one of my parents’ oldest friends. When Linda got in her accident, he never left her side. Even now, their love is absolutely incredible. Mike is the ultimate fitness man too. He and his son in law did the “trifecta” (I think that’s what it’s called). If I’m right, they caught some sort of fish, mammal, and maybe an alligator all in one 24 hour period. Whatever it was, I was impressed. He’s such a family man too, close with his children and their spouses and his grandchildren. I’m lucky he’s my godfather.

I’m really lucky in that a lot of the women who have positively influenced my life are related to (or tied to somehow) the men who are influential too.

I hope all of you have role models and loved ones out there this Father’s Day. For those of you who are fathers, or in fatherly roles, know that you do make a difference, and we’re all grateful for you. Happy Father’s Day!

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