It's Father's Day. My dad is currently 2,400 miles away in Ohio visiting his mom, step-dad, brothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, and who knows who else.. And I'm sitting here, not sleeping, sitting in bed with a snoring dog, thinking about my dad.
My dad can build. And not just like "here's a box". My dad can BUILD. Anytime we needed any sort of backdrop made for any band, guard, or drumline show, there was no doubt that my dad would be able to do it. If something breaks, my dad can fix it. Giant, moving triangle backdrops made out of mostly styrofoam? Yup! Cupcake stand? Yup! Stranded at the top of a hill in the middle of the Philippines with a car that won't start? No worries! My dad is like Bob the Builder, only way, way better because he doesn't have an annoying theme song that gets stuck in your head.
My dad talks. That might be a weird thing to say (most dads talk), but most people at first think of my dad as very quiet - which he is by default compared to the Weisenberger females. But anyone that has had any conversation with him will stop using that as their first word to describe him - it normally changes to "wise" or "smart". And while he is those things, I also think he's funny. Growing up, most of my friends were "scared" of him (just like I tended to be scared of their dads). But one time a friend came over for dinner when we had "breakfast for dinner", and my dad ended up serving the pancakes "air-born" style (chucking them across the table).. That friend thought it was hilarious and never used the word "scared" to describe my dad again. Ask my dad a question and you won't just get a "yes/no" answer.
My dad is patient. He's lived with four females (plus every dog we've had has been female) for a very long time and we are all very, very talkative. He had to deal with girls being teenagers for about thirteen years straight. He's watched us girls grow up. He's seen us make good choices. He's seen us make bad choices. And he has loved us through it all. He's heard me complain about things that are stupid and things that are important, and has never told me that he doesn't want to hear it.
My dad is never satisfied. He is never satisfied with who he is - in the best way possible. My dad wants to be more like Christ. He wants to be different than this world. He wants to soak up all that he can learn about his Creator and be who he is meant to be in Christ. He is always reading. Always. And most of the time, that reading isn't the latest pop-culture autobiography (that tends to be what's on my most recent Amazon receipt), it's a book to better himself (and not in a "self-help" kind of way). His office walls are covered in books and that doesn't include the hundreds (if not thousands) of books on his Kindle. He recently quit the job that he'd had for most of my life because it was what God was calling him to do which has given him more time to focus. Not focus on himself, but focus on Christ.. Because being satisfied with who you are with God is being content, and being content is not growing, and if you love God, you should be growing.. And my dad knows that.
And last but not least, my dad loves. He loves me. He loves Jenna. He loves Selah. He loves my mom. He (most of the time) loves Sousa (the dog). He loves the Lord. And he doesn't just love all of us, he loves us unconditionally (okay, maybe he does love the dog all the time). And I don't think love like that needs any more explanation.
There are so many people that either don't know their dad, don't like their dad, or think that their dad doesn't like them. But I'm extremely thankful this Father's Day that I know my dad, that I love my dad, and that I know that my dad loves me.
P.S. My dad also blogs. That's right, he blogs. And he blogs some good stuff. You should go visit his site.
