You ever heard of the saying “like father like son”? It usually makes sense right? You always overhear someone say something to your dad like,” You and your son act so much alike!” or “ You look just like your father!” It’s probably why you rarely ever hear “ Like father like daughter.” That wouldn't make much sense to me because my father and I are VERY different, for example, he likes to work hard and do as much as possible and think ahead, while I lay on the couch eating chips and watching “Friends” on Netflix. We also look nothing alike because he has brown eyes and black hair while I have blue eyes and blonde hair. He’s tall and I’m short, but despite all our differences, he has taught me many much needed information about life, like what to do when you drop a pizza in the oven and the toppings go everywhere or that you aren’t allowed to run beside your brother while he’s running during cross country or something along those lines. He has also taught me three very important things in my life that I see in myself; laughter, strength, and impatience.

Let’s start with laughter. As a lot of you know, I’m not known for my seriousness in situations, I’m more known for my sarcasm or humor when something isn’t right. Now sometimes at home, that can get me in trouble with my parents because they say it’s not appropriate behavior or something. But it never made much sense because my dad kids around an awful lot in serious situations. My dad is the literal king of dad jokes. There are a lot of times where his jokes are hilarious and makes everyone laugh, and then there are more times where it just starts to get annoying. That happens a lot with his teasing too. He will just go on and on with a joke and even if you ask or tell him to stop he doesn’t. He tells stories a lot as well. They usually have some humor in them, and sometimes they don’t.

Even if he says something wrong when he is telling a funny story, he plays it off with confidence, and with confidence you need strength. Now is it just me, or does it seem like dad's always know everything? My dad literally seems as if he is on the news. He knows countries around the world, the capitals, can do math off the top of his head, talks about government, to name a few. Now my dad is also very strong in his religion, along with the rest of my family. He’s on the worship team some mornings and he uses scripture a lot when he teaches me and my brother a lesson. A lot of dads seem like they can lift a car to save a child or lift heavy boxes when you move. When I was little, my dad would put both of his hands on my head, and pull me straight off the ground. My dad also works a lot in the garage making chairs or helping my brother with a project or his car. He helped build the house that I live in now along with a lot of my relatives, but he did a lot of the heavy lifting.

When you attempt to workout, you usually expect to get abs or muscles right away right? You look down the day after hoping that you have the best six pack in the history of six packs after doing 5 situps. My dad is NOT the most patient person in the world. He gets mad when he has to wait around 10-15 minutes after soccer or play practice. He’s also doesn’t like it when I don’t hear him right away or disobey him or disrespect him. But sometimes, I’m actually not doing those things and it seems a bit like he’s overreacting a bit. I remember that there was a time after I had just finished basketball practice about 5 minutes late, and if you’re in a sport you know you aren’t allowed to go on your phone during practice. I’m usually one of the last people to come out of the fieldhouse after practice, but this time I was one of the first. My dad was waiting in the parking lot and when I got into the car, he asked me very angrily what took me so long. He told me that I had told him that practice ended at 4:30 not at 5. Of course he was mistaken but he kept telling me that it is disrespectful to keep someone who is doing a you a favor waiting for so long and he basically lectured me the entire ride home. And when he scolds me like that it really gets on my nerves. But, I still love him to death.

My dad has taught me a lot in my life but most importantly, laughter, strength, and impatience. I love everyone in my family, and I love all our differences. I mean, I bond with my brother well, I talk about important things with my mom, but I feel safest when I’m with my dad. Even though my father and I have a lot of differences, I guess you can say that we are “like father like daughter.”