If you read our May musings, my words ring just as true this month - the complexities of organized holidays are impossible to hold together. If Father’s Day is painful, please know that we honor this part of your story and invite you to read ahead or pause on this one, whatever feels right. I can’t say as much about fathering as I can about mothering, but I’ve often wondered how much my confidence has been shaped by a dad who truly believed my sister and I could do anything, laughably so. I wasn’t born here, but you were! Which means you could be the president of the country! Completely straight-faced, certain that his two Korean American daughters would fall seamlessly in line next to the 40ish white, male presidents, if we wanted it enough. The beauty of this absurdity, especially amidst all of my dad’s imperfections, was what it did for my developing brain; words are more powerful than weapons and his were constantly adding strokes to the internal painting of my world, one where seeming impossibilities remained within grasp.
Confidence shapes every aspect of how we choose to live - how we show up, how we speak, how we take space. To have anyone dream big for you even before you understand how to dream big for yourself is an immeasurable gift. As we celebrate the dads and dad figures this month, I’m honoring my own, and the father of my two girls, who are also painting their worlds and believing for seemingly impossible tomorrows.
To absurdities and impossibilities,
Pat
