Beginnings

I had this really cute picture frame tutorial planned for today... but something happened that I want to share, so the picture frame can wait till Monday... This is a long post so bear with me...

Beginning is my One Little Word for 2011. {You can find out more about that here.} There are many reasons I chose that word for this year. There was ONE special reason that made me choose that word though. My Dad.

Like millions of people out there my parents are divorced. They divorced when I was young. I am COMPLETELY okay that the two of them decided to go their separate ways. I always say two parents that are separate and happy are way better than two parents who are together and miserable. My parents are the former.

My Mom is my rock. My best friend. My everything. She is such an amazing person. I look up to her in sooooo many ways. She is laid back and loves life {and everything that comes with it}.

My Dad saw too much of my Mom in me. So when they divorced my Dad and I BOTH butted heads. He and I are BOTH hard headed. We couldn't just agree to disagree. So eventually we quit talking. I went my way and he went his. Until recently...

On Christmas I got a card. It was from my Dad and Step-Mom. I haven't talked to him in 11 YEARS! The card was your generic Christmas card. But there was a note from each of them. My Dad wrote, "Think of you often and pray for you always. Love, Dad". My step-mom wrote about how she hoped that 2011 brought me good health and happiness and how she missed me and loved me.

My Dad lives a million miles away now. {Slight exaggeration} For Christmas he and my step-mom were in town though. At my aunt's house. I was already planning on going over there. Now I was DEFINITELY going.

So G and I went on our merry way to my aunt's. When we got there we said our hello's and everyone sat down and ate. After supper we exchanged gifts and were all talking and laughing. But there was a dark cloud in the room that nobody wanted to talk about...


My aunt and I decided that we had to get everyone relaxed and talking. So we played a game. I didn't want picking teams to be awkward so I made everyone draw cards. Even numbers were on one team odd on the other. As fate would have it G, Our buddy May, My Step-Mom, Dad and I were on a team. Everyone else was on the other. Fate is a crazy thing.


After about one round of the game everyone was laughing and joking. Having a great time! It was working! I was running around being my usual crazy self when I hear my step-mom say to my Dad, "Man she's got a lot of energy!" It hit me. Like a TON of bricks. They don't know me anymore. They don't know my husband, how we met, what I do for a living, they don't even know what kind of car I drive.

What's really crazy is that a lot of the things that drew me and G to each other were things that I got from my Dad. My AWESOME taste in music and cars. {Classic Muscle Cars!!! Oooooo 1969 Chevelle you will be mine one day!}

When we got ready to leave and we all said our goodbye's. By the end of the night I was calling him Dad and I actually gave him a hug bye. That brought me to tears.

After I got back home I sent him a card, along with the money that was in the card he had given on Christmas. I told him that his card meant more to me than any amount of money ever would.  I told him that I would like to get to know each other again. We have both changed so much over the years that I would like to get to know him. I told him that I know we have both made our mistakes towards our relationship but that I don't want to rehash the past. There is nothing either of us can do to change what has already been done. All we can do is move forward.

I didn't hear from him for awhile. I got worried. I was worried that I had upset him by sending back the money, or that he wasn't ready to talk yet... I was worried about so many things.

But today I got a wake-up call. Not the hypothetical kind. The real kind. Guess who it was from? That's right. My Dad. He called to tell me that he got my card and was surprised. He called and told me that he is ready to start over. To BEGIN a relationship. I could not be any happier than I am today.

 I'm ready for my first beginning of 2011. I'm ready to begin a real relationship with my Dad. Every girl needs her Dad. {Weather it be your biological father, adopted father, step-father, or a father figure} Every girl needs one. I'm so happy to finally be getting mine back.


Thanks for listening.