On Fathers' Day

Here’s to you Dad, who fathered beyond how you were

…and to regrets

Here’s to all Dads wanting the best for their girls

…in a world that conditioned us otherwise

Here’s to you Dad, who loved from where you’d been into new worlds you’d had no privy to

…and to lost years

Here’s to the Dads who clashed with their daughters

…and to mistakes

Here’s to you Dad, who changed, your certainty rocked by nuance, mud, scraped knees and unladylikeness

…and to listening

Here’s to meeting half way in a two way street

…and to second chances

Here’s to you Dad, who tried to teach

…and who ended up being taught

Here’s to Dads who were changed, no matter how long their journey

…and to amends

Here’s to quizzes over the phone from a hospital bed next to a loud obnoxious woman

…and to getting to know you Dad

Here’s to firsts…

…first rides without training wheels
first marks of the footy
first Norwood Redlegs tracksuits
first drives in the Volksi on L plates
first visits as soon as the new babies arrived…

And here’s us Dad

…to everything we’ve been through
and all we have repaired

…and to our first Fathers’ Day without you
Dad.