I am my father's daughter

He's the parent I have been around the most. When my mother left to pursue her career, in hopes we would shortly follow, she left us with only him as acting parent.
My father and I are both the eldest of multiple children, so there was an understanding from birth of what my duties and responsibilities were. I learned at thirteen how to change a tire and do basic house repairs. I learned at four to not piss him off. At fifteen, I learned how to not back down if we got in a fight. And there were lots of fights. Especially when mom wasn't there.
He's also the parent that basically said, "So long as you can function and do what is needed of you, you can stay out as late as you want".  There were many nights I didn't return until daybreak. I learned how to function on three hours of sleep (or no sleep) for days at a time. A few lessons I learned from him the hard way still linger in painful memories, but forgiveness is something I had to teach myself.
He instilled a love of old literature, and a thirst for knowledge, in me. He taught me that no one, not even him, can tell me I can't do something. He made me cocky when it came to school. He failed to prepare me for heartache. I know (and he admits) that he hoped I would never notice boys. He taught me how to not let fear stop me from doing something that needs to be done. He's scared of heights and swimming, yet fixes the roof, built his family a pool and goes on family cruises.
He showed me how to cut someone down without them realizing they were being dissed. He showed me how to defend myself verbally and physically. He stayed up late with me as a grade-schooler to watch Dr Who, Red Dwarf, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, etc and discuss what we had seen. He taught me how to grill, shuck hot corn, get every last bit of meat off of bones and that the baby always get fed first. Through his own career, he showed me a job is just a job. There are more important choices to be focused on.
He's been the one to hold me when I'm cold, watch out for me when I get in trouble, and make sure that I can handle anything that life throws at me. He taught me I am a lot stronger than I think, physically and mentally. He's made all of his girls swear to marry someone better than he is, but to make sure Mr Right has the qualities we like in dad.
But deep down, I know he hopes we'll always be his little girls that need daddy to protect them. Too bad he taught me how to be independent.
Happy Father's Day.