Father’s Day is here, and like many of you, I find myself thinking about my Dad and realizing why he means so much to me. I’d like to share my thoughts about my dad, and I hope that you will take some time to connect with your dads, too.

Kitty, Cat, and Emmy were all names that I can vividly remember my dad calling me as I was growing up. They were all very endearing nicknames and really just showed how close of a bond my dad and I have always shared together.

From the time that I was very young, it was obvious that my dad, Dan, and I had lots of things in common, including some of our personality traits. My dad and I are very notorious for being somewhat of impatient people, but that definitely does not take away from our caring and fun loving sides. I also got the quality of perseverance from my dad. He has always told me to never give up and always try to be the best I can be; and he has modeled that so well for me through his own life, even when things were not always going perfectly. My dad has always been nothing but supportive of my ambitions and goals in life, and that means the world to me. He has been behind me on the decisions that I make, and if not, he is there to talk things through with me. That is such an important gift to have.

I really began to have a greater appreciation for sports and the outdoors because of my dad. I cannot honestly count the number of Twins, Vikings and other sports games we have watched together over the years. We both are known to be quite loud, boisterous fans, but sometimes it seems to help our teams to victory!

I have done a lot of hands-on things with my dad outdoors and otherwise, too, that I may not have had the chance or ambition to do on my own, such as farm work on my dad’s childhood farm and going hiking in the woods. What great experiences these were for me!

My dad and I have the same sense of humor, and it is so much fun to be able to make comments or tell jokes and have someone there to appreciate them. There is nothing that makes me happier than when my dad laughs at one of his own jokes, and he really gets going about it! Although he can seem to be a very quiet, to himself kind of person, he really has a great, colorful, unique personality if you get to know him, and that is something that makes him so special to me.

Although everyone has their rough times, I can honestly say that my dad and I rarely disagree, and when we do, it seems to have a lot to do with our similar personalities. He is a person that I feel that I can tell anything, and not have him judge me or my character. I honestly don’t know what I would have done growing up if he was not a part of my life. He has really complemented my personality and helped to make me the person that I am today.

I can never thank you enough, Dad, for all that you have put up with and done for me over the years. I love you so much!

Happy Father’s Day!

Emily Bodensteiner is a junior at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She is studying elementary education.