My Dad is Kind of Like a Big Deal.

Since I can remember, my dad has joked about how he always wanted a son just like him, but instead got a daughter. Me. 

As a kid, I wasn't really sure what that meant. My dad was a bit of a rebel. He drove his motorcycle through the halls of Albemarle High School. He stapled a teacher to the bulletin board for sitting my mom on the front row to look up her skirt in 12th grade. He poured kerosene on a bad cut he got  from sneaking out the house and sewed it up with a needle and thread from my grandmothers sewing kit so he wouldn't get in trouble with his dad. He was state champion in wresting two years in a row. He loved to fight, or at least, he seemed to do it a lot. His arrest record is quite impressive...and extensive.

And what all this tells me..my dad don't take no shit from no one. And at the age of 61, this is still true today.

In our small little town, my dad is a legend. No seriously, ask anyone. Everyone has a Roger Hudson story. And most of the time it's about him taking up for the underdog. His methods may not always be the most proper and tactful way to handle situations, but his heart--his heart is always in the right place.

My dad believes in giving people second chances. He's a man of conviction. He has taught me that questioning things in okay--encouraged, actually. And he probably has had some regrets on that one a time or two. 

But what I have realized over the years about being just like my dad...it's not so much in our actions, it's how our head and heart work. My entire childhood, my dad was a workaholic. I'm an alcoholic. Kind of the same thing ...I mean, when it comes to the mental addiction part.  It's always been our escape--a way of dealing or not dealing with life. 

My dad didn't need rehab or a 12 step program to change his way of living like I did, but it didn't come easy for him.  I saw the first change in perspective with my dad about ten years ago when he had a heart attack and then the second change when my brother died. It sucks that it sometimes takes something like a heart attack or death of a child to open your eyes to what's really important in life, but I can relate. 

Now, I am not going to say my dad has become a softy, but he's kind of like a big teddy bear these days. A big hearted, generous, loving, giving, enjoys life, easy-going,  but don't mess with him or anyone he loves or he will still kick your ass teddy bear. 

Oh, and remember last year on Father's Day when I got my dad a building permit for him to build me a swimming pool...

Roger Hudson, you are my very own super hero...and not just because you got me a pool. But, I'm not gonna lie...it doesn't hurt! But you are the most amazing man I know. Love you to heaven and back, Dad! Happy Father's Day! You will always be #1