A Little Bit About…Dads

Today is Father’s Day in many countries, a day to celebrate Dads and father figures everywhere. So guess what today’s inspiration is? That’s right, today I wanted to write A Little Bit About my Dad.

Multi-skilled, in his spare time alone, he’s my tax consultant, property maintenance manager and general life advice guru. Oh, and he also provides a top notch taxi service between Edinburgh airport and home. We have the same initials, same sense of humour and many of the same mannerisms (so my Mum tells us), albeit I definitely watch and play a lot less football than him.

I thought I’d share with you all some of the most important lessons my Dad’s taught me over the years. He’s a pretty private person, but he’s also the biggest fan of this blog, so I’m sure he won’t mind me letting you in on a few of our secrets to life since it’s all for a good cause.  

Dream big – Ever since I’ve been little, my Mum and Dad have both always told me I can do anything I put my mind to. Our minds are powerful things, and my Dad in particular has always taught me to use mine wisely…by thinking positively. And turns out he’s right. It sounds so simple, but this is the biggest and best gift I could ever have asked for so guess we need to add another tally mark on the “what I owe you” list haha!

Somebody else’s food always tastes better – this one is so annoyingly true, do you agree? Regardless of what it is, it could be a takeaway, it could be a bag of crisps, it could be a roast dinner. But someone else’s always tastes better! Luckily, that’s what Dads are for…sharing their food with their daughters haha!

I don’t need 30 pairs of shoes – I’m going to compromise on this one and agree with him that I do not need 30 different pairs of shoes. However, I still stand firmly on the fact that I want and enjoy having 30 different pairs of shoes. I think we’ll just agree to disagree on that one, eh Dad? We can’t all wear the same brand of trainers for 40 odd years…

Be an athlete – my Dad’s always joked with me about being “an athlete”, mostly because, well, I’m not. But that’s ok, because what is important is going out and making the effort to do some exercise. Good for the body, good for the mind! Whether it was running my first cross country race in primary school (and taking so long to come back into the stadium everyone thought I was lost), playing Netball in the Scottish Cup Championship or simply just going to the gym, my Dad’s always been there to support me. Not quite managed to get anyone else other than him (and my Mum) to recognise me for my athletic abilities right enough, but I’m sure that’s just an oversight….

Rollerblades are great fun, but not the most appropriate footwear – when I was younger, my Dad took me camping for the weekend. At the time it seemed like the biggest adventure I could possibly be going on and I was so excited that 5 minutes after arriving at the campsite near Loch Lomond, I ran straight into the lake…trainers and all. My Mum is the organised one in the family, meaning if she was there I would have had a spare pair of shoes to change into, but this was strictly a Dad and daughter adventure. Meaning no spare shoes and having to wear rollerblades for the next 48 hours until my trainers dried again! Great fun, but definitely NOT practical. Lesson learnt by all!

Always brush your teeth before bed (and don’t crunch polo mints) – my Mum and Dad were never too strict BUT, there was one thing my Dad told me every single night…to brush my teeth. He told me to promise him just that one thing, to always take care of my teeth, as I’d look back and thank him one day. So even now, at 29 years old and over 2000km away, I still brush my teeth every night thinking of that, and I have to say every time I look in the mirror, I am indeed very thankful for my pearly whites! Have to confess, I do love to secretly crunch polo mints though…sorry Dad!

Anyway, those are just a few of my highlights. And what better way to end than with a Braveheart quote: I love you, I’ve always loved you…dad jokes and dad dance included!