My Dad : An Early Age

I was so lucky to share such an extraordinary relationship with my dad. My dad always encouraged me find the path that makes me happiest and stick to it no matter how hard the wind blows. He was a simple man with simple advice, and yet now I couldn’t even comprehend that I was supposed to live the rest of my life without him.

I never really knew my grandpa as well as I would have liked. He was already an old, old man by the time I started high school, and my own memories of him are mostly of a man confined by age and ailing health. So I'm not really going to talk about my memories of him. Instead, I'm going to try to share his memories and the memories of those that knew him.

Vernell spent the majority of his work life driving semi-truck, but also farmed, worked with his brother commercial fishing and ran the Standard Oil gas station. In his retirement Dad raised Charolaise cattle, mowed a lot of lawn and watched his westerns, John Wayne being a favorite. He was a hard worker and he instilled a strong work ethic in each of his children. But he also knew how to play, known for his infectious laugh having a great sense of humor.

He wouldn't fret helping you in the event that you required it. He adored showing his classmates and his friends before every one of them the life lessons they expected to learn. He ingrained in all of them the qualities he carried on with his life by, and I was sufficiently lucky to get the opportunity to see them grow up through his teachings. I can see him in all their splendid little faces, and I realize that he was glad to have such a delightful family.

My grandpa loved to be outdoors no matter what he was doing. He loved to take anyone fishing, whether that be family or friends. He used to

The Birth of my first, Jayden, was pretty normal, and he was on time. I was in labor for

Have you ever had a hero in your life, someone that is always there for you when you need them? I did, I called him "my dad." My dad was the only person that could make me laugh when I was feeling down. My dad was that person who had so much love for his family. My dad was the person who I could call and he'd always pick up. My dad was the person who would drop everything just to help me. My dad was the biggest hero in my life and to this day, still is.

It was a normal day Brayden, Seth and I just got done with basketball practice. We were wondering if we had plans for the remainder of the day.

Have you ever wondered who these people are that keep you safe everyday? My dad was one of them. He was in the Michigan State Police for twenty-seven years. He has helped save the lives of many people.He started working in the MSP even before he met my mom. He eventually married her and was working nights.He worked everynight to protect us. You. Everyone. Every night, when you were asleep, he was out working. Working to protect you. When he had a kid, my brother Logan, he was still working nights. He had to move from place to place, taking his family with him so he could do his job. When something bad happened, he was there to protect you. Even when you wanted to hide in your house and not come out, he was there to protect you. My dad is an amazing person. This is why my dad is my Michigan Hero.

“Prove them wrong” When I was in fourth grade my dad and brother and I were playing basketball at our house, to help my brother practice. I had never played basketball except against my brother, Brayden. My dad would always be our referee and it was a lot of fun. Even though I never beat Brayden. Brayden didn’t think I was very good, and he would have to play easy on me instead of playing as well as he could have played. It really annoyed me I wanted to be as good as him or better because I wanted to actually have a chance to be better than him at one sport.

“Ya son las Cinco y media,” is what my dad would say to me everyday during summer. We would go up to Redlands to this avocado groove to pick avocados. Under the big, tall, leafy trees we would work until our bodies couldn't take it anymore and needed a break. We would work under the hot scorching sun, our faces dripping in sweat until 3:30. I would always get home tired knowing the same thing was waiting for me the next day.

My father showed up to my graduation late missing me walk across the stage receiving my diploma, but I still love him. When I was younger we had a normal father daughter relationship until Valentine’s day of 2009 when he left. My mom left the house and business to get away from their toxic marriage. They soon got a divorce and ever since then he hasn’t been an active reliable father. Years passed, and I was still holding on to hope that he’d someday will re-enter his three-daughter’s life but hope soon vanished when he did not attend anything he should’ve as a father, call to check up on us or send not only monetary support, but support in general. My mother and father had a great relationship I would say before the divorce but of course

My father was a lifeguard, but not in my lifetime, so maybe loving the ocean was in our blood. As children we grew up in Brooklyn and we would go to Riis Park for our day at the beach. One very distinct memory is of my father as he stood waist deep in the ocean with my brother and sister; the waves periodically lifted and dropped them in the water at his side. Waist deep for my father meant it was well over my head so I remained a safe distance (or so I thought) behind them. Suddenly, a wave appeared and and before I could turn and rush to the shoreline the ocean attacked. I found myself in a world of foam, pockets of air allowed me to breathe as I was tossed about like

When I was a child, my late father and I would spend every moment of the summer season on the sparkling white sand of the beach near our home. We would dance knee-deep in the icy surf, kicking up the surface so that the droplets glimmered like diamonds in the sunlight. We would lie on our backs and stare at the sky, until the swirling clouds began to take on fantastical shapes. We would grip imaginary weapons and spar, swinging tomahawks and thrusting swords like the most violent of fantasy pirates. These idyllic days went on and on; a never-ending cycle of azure skies, frozen forever within my mind. My earliest memories are filled with images of my father in these moments, laughing as he kicked up the warm sand and twirling a golden compass around his pinkie. And, now, as I stand on the same beach, feeling the same heat radiating under my feet, almost fifteen years later, I can’t help but think of him. I can’t help but think of him, and all of the pain he instilled into both himself and everyone around him during the final years of his life.

The hardest time in a person's life is often following the death of a close family member. Death is hard, losing someone you love and see on a daily basis causes great grief and sorrow. For me that special person I lost was my Dad. My father died when I was twelve and it was no doubt the hardest time of my life. Our relationship was indescribable I was his little buddy and we went absolutely everywhere together, and when he died it was like he just disappeared from my life forever. As a young boy you really do not know how to react to such a terrible situation. Neil Ibrahim a father of four dies young and it's just you and your brother left to carry the family name. Throughout the grieving process one learns who really cares about his or hers well being and the upbringing of their children without a father, losing your father makes you more responsible and a more humble person because you are all they left behind.