Today, we celebrate all the dads. Being a dad myself for the past 16 years has given me a unique perspective on fatherhood and what it has meant to me. Without question, my dad has had a profound influence on my life. I learned about the importance of hard work, taking advantage of one's opportunities, and always giving my best.
Dad recently visited Ann Arbor for the first time over Memorial Day, and we had the chance to show him the sites in our town in addition to up north in Michigan in Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes.
More importantly, during this visit, I got a chance to hear more about my dad's story and how he came to the US and started his education in Wisconsin and then was in a PhD program at the University of Washington before determining that it was not a good fit. He subsequently returned to Wisconsin and then returned to India where he go married.
Upon returning to the US, he was in Chicago temporarily while he awaited responses to job inquires. Ultimately, the Saskatchewan Technical Institute in Moose Jaw hired him, and he and my mom moved there sight unseen. What an eventful start to adulthood, and it was those experiences that probably made my mom and dad unafraid of change with two subsequent moves.
My own children lived in a fairly protective cocoon or bubble until we moved two years ago. They have grown in so many ways these past two years and been forced outside their comfort zones, especially due to COVID. I am so proud of the young people they are becoming and how they are honest, kind, caring, and passionate young people.
As time goes by, and we get older, our ideas about what is important changes. For me, nothing is more than being with the ones you love and letting them know that you love them.
So dad, I want to thank you for making me the man and dad I am today. I will forever be in your debt, and I will do my best to pass on your example to my kids! I love you!
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