Today is Father's Day here in the States. I've done a tremendous amount of thinking about Dads in the last few days. We didn't have a tremendous amount of money when I was growing up. We always had food on the table, and our school tuition was paid. We had new clothes, but nothing stylish like my friends. My friends had the latest, cool toys and I was pretty envious. During the summer months, my father worked a second job at night as a janitor, cleaning schools. He did this so there would be enough money to buy toys for the four children for Christmas. I was your typical snippy pre-teen, and was very embarrassed, so I told my friends that my dad taught school at night. Come Christmas morning, the tree was surrounded by gifts. I don't remember a lot of the gifts my father worked so hard to give us. These gifts that I was so embarrassed about as a kid. What I remember the most is the time we spent together. He taught me to play baseball in the backyard. When we went swimming in the pool, he pretended to be a sea-monster and would grab at my legs. My mother would have to take me out of the pool because I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. My Dad didn't help me with my homework, but he would sit quietly and listen while my mother reviewed my lessons with me. It wasn't until I was an adult that I understood why. He never made it past the 8th grade, and would sit and learn with me. Whenever my Dad went to fix anything in the house, I was his little helper. As an adult, he made it his job to take care of my car. Even though I was having it serviced, he would still check the tires and the oil - just in case the servicemen got it wrong. I would come over to visit my family, and my Dad would be outside, checking my car! If the weather was bad, he would call me to make sure I made it home from work. I learned a lot from my father - to be nice to people, to love my country and most importantly, that family comes first. The greatest gift I got from my father was the opportunity to know him as a human being. You know the old saying - you can pick your friends, but not your family. My father was someone that I would have picked as a friend. I'm glad that we were friends. My father died in my arms a year and a half ago. It was then that I learned what it meant to be truly heart-broken. He was a phenomenal human being, and I hope to be half the person he was. I'd like to say thank-you to all the men who are fathers or who mentor a young person. And also to the women who are wearing both hats of mother and father. You make an indelible impression on us. You help shape who will be as adults. No one thinks to thank-you if you do a good job. From the bottom of my heart - thank you! And have a very happy Father's Day! Take care, Tracy