Thanks for our Dads

This following is a partial but important list of those things for which I owe my father thanks:

1. For making me ride roller coasters.
2. For never letting me quit on my teammates.
3. For insisting that the minimum requirement was never the standard I should set.
4. For not intervening the day my little brother got the best of me in a fist fight.
5. For demanding that I maintain the toys and equipment I had been given.
6. For insisting that I help pay for my first vehicle and do well in school in order to keep the privilege of driving.
7. For always coming home when the work day was over.
8. For always loving me even as you disciplined me.
9. For showing up at the ball field when there were more pressing matters on your calendar.
10. For always putting God first.
11. For always loving my mother.
12. For kneeling every night beside your bed to pray.
13. For family meals together.
14. For always standing up for me - even when I  almost got kicked out of that condominium during 'beach week' after my high school graduation (who knew they didn't want 30 teenagers in one room??).
15. For expecting me to behave like a man but extending grace when I acted like a child.
16. For eating your vegetables.
17. For teaching me to fish.
18. For always learning something new.
19. For living a life that a son would desire to emulate!

Oh well . . . what about your list of thanks?  Happy Father's Day!