For Dad

With Father's Day coming up tomorrow, coupled with the fact that we didn't race today and I have nothing else to blog about, on top of the fact that I did a blog post for my mom for Mother's Day, I figured it would be nice today to make a post in honor of my "first love," my dad.

 

So, setting run-on sentences and other poor grammatical choices aside, let me talk (or type...whatever) a little about my dad...

 

Sometimes I wonder how people become the way they are; how you can have family members who, despite coming from the same gene pool, are totally opposite, and then some who are so alike there is only the question of in what way they are related...

But I would imagine a big part of what shapes us as people is what and who we allow to influence us and in what ways. A lot of people have considered me a "mini Craig," because in most ways, I am a smaller, female version of him (which has its pros and cons). According to my theory, that would make perfect sense given the fact that my dad has been, and continues to be, a huge influence on me. And to be honest, there is no one else on this earth who I would want to impact my life the way he did.

 

My dad has truly showed me the value of hard work. He built his business up from nothing (I mean literally, he and his dad built his garage from scratch). He showed me how to make sacrifices to take care of bigger responsibilities when I learned he quit drag racing for an entire decade so he could provide for my brothers and I. My dad taught me you can express love in all kinds of ways, like always being aware of his actions because it sets an example for my brothers and I. And most of all, every single day my dad shows me what strength truly looks like.

 

My dad brought drag racing into my life. Before he did, he showed me just how much work goes into something like drag racing. From building a car, to maintaining it, to simple tasks during race day, he gave me a full understanding of how much he (and my father in law now) puts into giving me just a few seconds of fun.

Racing is where my dad and I truly connect. He is the only person who understands me and my racing style. The only person who can calm me down after a tough loss. He is my biggest fan.

With racing, I learned focus (and just how hard it is to do this), I learned precision (and how much it matters), and I learned patience.

Racing and my dad have taught me hard work pays off. He taught me how to win and (mostly) lose gracefully, and how important being a good sport is. He taught me your actions have lasting impressions on many people. And the biggest lesson he taught me is that without having faith in myself, I will never be able to succeed.

 

Without my dad's love and encouragement, I would not only have quit racing a long time ago, but I also would never have felt I was worth the love of someone else. He has helped me get past my lowest points in life by never giving up on me and always staying by my side. His faith that I could end up somewhere better, and that I deserved it, is why I have come to where I am now.

 

I know I would need an entire blog dedicated to my dad to tell all the stories of how great he is. But, since I don't, you all will just have to take my word for it.

My dad is pretty damn great.

 

Happy Father's Day, Dad.