You're the First...

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I just want to say that I AM BLESSED! I have a wonderful Daddy who I love very much! There are many fathers out there donating sperm and making babies, but Daddies are something special!

My daddy means so much to me. I love him! My daddy taught me something extremely special. He shared his love of music and taught me to dance. He taught me how to really feel the music, listen to the lyrics, appreciate the melody, isolate instruments, and make connections. The dance that my dad taught me was one where there were two partners. Sometimes they danced together and sometimes they danced apart, but they were still partners. That dance is the relationship that I had with my dad and still continue to have today.

Our dance is a strong relationship where I know that my daddy loves me and he knows that I love him back. My daddy taught me the fundamentals of the dance (life) and showed me the specific steps to succeed. He showed me the basics and applauded when I took a dance (life experience) and made it my own. Sometimes he took the lead and so he could show me how to navigate through life. Other times we stood side by side in front of the mirror and learned new "steps" together. He didn't mind when I stepped on his feet or tripped while learning the dances. I did the steps as he's taught them to me until I am confident and then...I add some flair to the dance. My daddy practiced dances with me until he knew that I knew them and then he set me free to dance on my own. Many times I heard the music of life and instead of following the dance steps I've been taught, decided to I've decided to freestyle. My daddy was/is always there to cheer me own in my freestyle dance and to reteach me the steps when I've freestyled so much, that I've forgotten my foundation.

My daddy and I do a mean bop! The bop is a hand dance where there are certain fundamentals that must be learned. He takes the lead and I follow, but we both add our own flair. I follow daddy's gentle guidance and he makes me look like a star. Sometimes we hold hands during the dance, but sometimes he lets me free and I'm on my own. The bop is our special dance that is representative our our relationship. One of our favorite songs to bop to is Jam Tonight by Freddie Jackson. On this Father's Day, I want to say, "Thank you for being a wonderful dance instructor. I love you and can't wait to dance with you again real soon (really dance, not metaphorically speaking this time.) I LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!!!...JILLYBEAN