Being a Dad

At the age of seven, my parents divorced and my dad moved away which meant that my siblings and I rarely saw him. As time passed, I only had distant memories of what it was like to have a real dad, that was until my mum met the most wonderful man and remarried a few years later. 
At the time, I took for granted how much this man, who had entered our lives unexpectedly, selflessly sacrificed in order to create a stable home for us. Let’s face it, it can’t be easy for someone to take on the role of a father to three children who are not biologically his own; and yet he did without so much as a grumble. He never complained when we tried and tested his patience, never winced when as teenagers, we rebelled and shouted that he couldn’t tell us what to do as he wasn’t our ‘real’ dad, and never once treated us any differently to how you would expect a dad to treat his children.
In fact, through all my most important milestones, it was my step-dad who was there to hold my hand in times of trouble or congratulate me on my achievements. He was the one who stood like a proud dad at my graduation ceremony and held his head high when I went on stage to receive my degree. He was the one who helped me to choose my first car and was then the one to console me afterwards when I crashed it only a few months later. With a tear in his eye, he was the one who walked me down the aisle, watching his daughter become a wife. He was also the one at the hospital with the huge smile, as he held his granddaughter in his arms for the first time.
Colour and size does not fit all and as such, we are blessed with many different types of dads in this world. Some are biological dads and some, like mine, are step ‘in’ dads. Some might be uncles or grandfathers, or any male father figure that you are privileged to have in your life. The 19th June is always a special day for me to pay homage to that man who unexpectedly came into my life all those years ago as anyone can be a father, but it takes someone truly special to be a dad.