And the men who hold high places, must be the ones to start, to mold a new reality, closer to the heart

Disclaimer to prior post as I have received numerous messages.  The person I wrote about knows who he is, and sorry, will not post on here who he is and will not tell in private messages who he is-so you can keep guessing but I won't tell ;)  And to my Dad, I wrote this post about two weeks ago as today's  events are Entre Nous.

Today I'm going to talk about family.  From the previous posts you can see I had a tough time and transition back into the single life.  The one piece of advice I can give anyone, male or female, is when things get tough, no matter what happens you have your family.  Everyone's family looks a little different.  I am lucky to have my wonderful parents, my sister, my brother in law, my soon to be niece, Grandparents, many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and my very close friends who I consider family. 

I have always been close to my parents.  Even though I put them through hell in my high school and college years, and then they paid a ridiculous amount of money for my wedding, and we all know how that ended!  But they still love me, do not judge me for my mistakes, and always have well wishes for me.

While I am very close with both of my parents, this post is going to be about my Dad.  I'll post about my Mom in another one, and the rest of my family in another, but here is where I start.

When I first told my parents I was separating from my ex-husband, they were obviously upset. My Dad contacted my ex and invited him out for wings and beers.  They ended up going, and had a good talk.  While my ex did not take my Dad's advice, I will always be thankful that my Dad had my back and was looking out for the both of us. 

When I told my parents that I was filing for divorce, I told my Dad first.  Not to say that my Mom and I are not very close, in fact I consider her my mother and my best friend, I just needed my Dad. From that point on, I learned that there is only one man who will never break your heart, and that is your Dad.  I cannot say enough kind words about my Dad.  He has taught me to be strong, how to not take things personally, how to not "take the bait", and he has shown me what it means to love someone.  My Dad loves my Mom, me and my sister like there is no tomorrow.  He would stand up to anyone and do whatever it takes to protect us.  He also puts up with a ton of abuse-in a household of women (well he had Jake to attempt to even the playing field).

I consider myself very resourceful.  I have learned that from my Dad.  If a perfect stranger walked up to my Dad and had a problem, if he couldn't fix it, he will send them to a person that could. I think he has that trait because of his Dad, my Papa.  That has been passed on to my sister and I.

When we lost my Papa, we did not have a funeral service for him.  This was his wish.  And I know from the stories that my Dad has told me, he and his father had great talks prior to my Papa's body leaving this Earth.  While their relationship wasn't perfect, at least in the end, they had a relationship that only a first born son and his father could have.

My Dad sent out a note to his friends and our family about his Dad, our Papa.  I remember distinctly in that letter he said that my Papa could fix anything.  He said that if a space ship was in trouble, and NASA called my Papa, he would be able to trouble shoot the issue they were having on board and bring the astronauts home safely.  My Dad could do the same thing.  I am confident in that. 

My Dad has helped me through what was a very difficult phase in my life.  I do not know what I would have done without him.  Whether he agreed with my decisions or not, he has always supported me.  He helped me trouble shoot my problems so I could get back on track.  He also has a sense of humor I guess only Bartlett's-or the British can get.  I could tell my Dad that I just solved all of the world's problems, he would respond by saying, "Good for you".  This is why I love him.  Many will not understand this, but if you know my Dad, I bet you are laughing you booty off.

My Dad is the type of person that considers everyone family.  He is loyal, resourceful, extremely intelligent and protective of those who are important to him. Those are traits I hope I have proven I have.  I cannot say enough about him.  I am happy that my niece will have my Dad as her Grandpa, and one day when I have kids, I am happy they will have him as well.

Again I am lucky, I have actually two men in my life who I know will never break my heart.  My Dad and my Lab.  I am thankful my Dad is now a foster parent to my Lab.   I know that no matter what happens, what ebbs and flows happen, I have the both of them.  My boys, my Dad and my dog, the only man (and man dog) that will never break my heart.  Thank you Dad, you are the best Dad anyone could ever ask for.  You have taught me things, from docking a boat, to enjoying my first Rush concert in sixth grade,  to managing my finances on my own, and did it in a way where I no longer feel hopeless and afraid.