So today we celebrate Fatherhood. On this day I celebrate the one man who has been the greatest influence in my life, My Father. Joseph Cooper has it all. He is charismatic, spiritual, strong, goal oriented, and has a mean back swing when I did something wrong.
We grew up in a very Church oriented family. Our family attended Church at the very least 3 times a week. My father, being a Minister was there more frequently. The dynamics of our family centered on church services and meetings. I wouldn’t say it was difficult growing up but it was different. There were a lot of rules, but we as kids really had it all. I knew my father worked hard, but it wasn’t until I became a father myself that I could look back and appreciate the things that he did. As kids we never wanted for anything. Birthdays, Holidays were all special because of the sacrifices my father would make. He would work long hours on his job and then go to service to serve the church we attended. It was hard being close to him because I knew the levels of commitments he had outside the family were tremendous. To me my father was like superman, he could REALLY do anything.
Through the past 10 years, I've grown to know my father in a much different light. He has become more of a friend in regards to how we communicate. Its always been know that I could talk to him about anything, but recently it has become much easier to do so. We talk about everything, from relationships, kids, and even recreational stuff like my vehicles and fishing. He has taught me that fatherhood is not this stern serious person who is a dictator over his kids, but rather someone who their sons can look up to and say, "When I grow up, I want to be just like my Father" Something I can truly say.
Dad, I love you, and thank you for all the lessons, hard work, love and attentiveness you've shown me over the past 35 years. In more ways than one I wouldn’t be here today without you!
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