My Father

Following up the theme across the blog world of sappy posts about our dads, here is my take.

Father's Day in Brazil is only in August, so there was no themed phone calls yesterday. But that doesn't mean, I can't, in my own little corner, write a shout out to my dad. Even if he will never read this (and he never will), it's worth registering, telling everyone. That I? I won the parents' lottery. My parents are amazing.

My father is my hero, no doubt about it. He has always been supportive and proud of me and my choices, even when I am not that proud myself. And even if all of a sudden I come up with a incredibly career (I have given up on that dream, visa constraints means I take what I can get), I will in no way achieve as much in my lifetime as my father has in his.

How many people can say they grew up hanging out at the cockpit of a plane? Sitting on your father's lap, admiring the clouds below? My father, who is now retired as a four-star general of the Brazilian Air Force, was a fighter pilot and for years, also part of the Air Force flight shows (the Brazilian version of the Thunderbirds).

In his career, he has gone as far as it was possible, only stopping short of becoming the Armed Forces Minister (he chose to retire when they moved back to Brazil after his 2-year stint working for the UN -- some say he would have made that far, but upcoming changes in the military retirement benefits at that time prompted his decision).

It is one of the reasons titles and ranks were never a big deal for me. Whether in the military or in a regular corporation, people, whether bigshots or not, are just people. Seeing people making a big deal of my dad, the General, when he was in fact, just my dad, numbed me for these other things.

He is in his mid-70's, but doesn't look a day over 60. He is incredibly fit, jogs, bike rides a few times weekly, plays tennis constantly. My parents have one of those incredible marriages, where they still hold hands on their way out to dinner. I have seen them disagreeing in the past, but cannot ever remember witnessing them fighting or shouting at each other. They are best friends and respect one another above all else.

There is no one I am proud of more than him. And I know, that I can always count on the two of them. Their love really is unconditional, though they would be the first to tell me when I'm making a bad decision.

I live away from them, and have for the last 10 years. For the untrained eye, it might seem like I am not close to my family, but that couldn't be more wrong. I religiously talk to my parents every Sunday, and call them on the whim other times during the week.

They arrive in about a month, for their annual visit. I cannot wait!

A "to fix in my condo" list, is already in development. Because the General? Is also an awesome handyman.

Dad, thank you for being so wonderful, always.