On the day that I write this, my dad turns 62. We have had almost 39 years of crazy times. We have been through hell and back together. I have learned so much from my dad. When we were apart because of life situations, I missed him every day.
When I was growing up, my dad was my hero and my best friend. I always looked up to him and wanted to be like him. Sports is the thing that we have always done together. The first thing I ever read was the sports page of the paper when I was about 18 months old. I was unable to play when I was younger because I was in and out of the hospital, so we spent a lot of time watching and discussing sports. When I decided at 14 that I wanted to try to play tennis, he was the one in my corner when my mom and doctor didn’t like the idea. He helped me and encouraged me through the four seasons of high school and a few years after. Today, we love talking sports and going to basketball games.
We also have a mutual love for all things music, movies, TV and Jeopardy. We used to spend evenings watching Jeopardy and the latest fad TV show. We even talk soap operas. It is nothing for us to have a conversation about these topics trying to figure out who is right and wrong.
My dad is also a faithful man of God. His mother was a devout Christian and her faith was passed down to him and to me. He believes that we have to keep praying and to stop worrying about everything. He is teaching this to my nephews and it is such a beautiful thing to watch.
When he fell ill with a massive infection, I didn’t know what to do. My nurses training took over as did praying for a miracle from God. That came nine months after I had lost my mom and rebuilt my relationship with my dad. Five years have passed and I am so grateful every day that God kept him here with me. He is the one I talk to every day and still one of the heroes in my life. He is truly a blessing!
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Gina Fox is a wife, mom to 2 fur babies and aunt to 5 boys who lives in North Canton, OH. She loves to write, teach and have endless conversations about movies and music. Her IG is @gfox2010. Her blog is ginafox79.wordpress.com.
