Yesterday was Father's Day. I didn't write a post because I'm generally unaware of what day it is. And also I don't blog much these days.

But after reading a few other posts about bloggers' fathers, I thought to myself, "My dad is just as cool, if not cooler, than these dads. He deserves his own post."

And THEN I thought, "My dad very recently talked to me for 34 minutes (I checked on my phone), which is a long talk for us, and actually said just the right things to make me feel better."

So I decided to write about my cool and articulate dad.

Here's a great picture of us from about 2 years ago:

I have two people I usually call when I'm upset or need to talk: Jaime and my mom. Last week was an especially rough week and Friday night I was just needing some contact with someone who is not at all affiliated with Teach For America. I called Jaime, but she had plans with some friends so she couldn't talk. My mom was at Girls Camp so she couldn't talk. So I called my dad. We talked for a while about what was going on at home, and then he asked how things were going for me out here in Phoenix. I vented a while and expressed my frustrations with the system and the process and the absurdity of a lot of the stuff going on out here. (Before I continue, don't get any ideas that TFA is a messed up organization. It's awesome. The training process is intense, though, and can be frustrating at times.) He surprised me by not just giving encouraging words, but by actually relating my experience to some of the experiences he had while in law school, and shared some helpful advice. Real, concrete stuff. I was in high school when my dad was in law school, so I've never really heard much about his experiences. Not surprisingly, I wasn't too interested in my dad's law school experience as a teenager. Hearing about it, though, gave me a new window into my dad and who he actually is. More than anything else, it was just comforting to know that I had a dad at home who cared about me, understood at least partially what I was going through, and believed that I have what it takes to make it through and be a transformational teacher when I get back. And if my earthly father feels that way, how much more does my Heavenly Father love, understand, and believe in me?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I felt loved. And that's just what I needed.