A letter to my Dad from Andrew Lwowski — Happy Father’s Day
I’m sure we’ll spend Father’s Day how we usually do; lounging by the pool with classic rock playing and a few drinks. Stella and Missy (our dogs) will be diving in off the side, chasing a ball. You’ll tell me how you’ll kick my butt in a game or two of horse and we’ll chirp back and forth while Mom and Jack (my brother) float around.
It’s the small moments like these that mean the most. And it’s all those same small moments between the ongoing life lessons that I’m grateful for.
In elementary school, we would sit in the car waiting to hear Mark and Neanderpaul’s “dumbass of the day” on the radio before the time came to drop me off. Over the summers, you would pick me from summer Kidzone to get Blimpies subs for lunch. In middle school, you would take me to swim team practice in Chandler, and we’d stop for Dairy Queen on the way home.
Now, as I’ve gotten older, our relationship hasn’t changed; it’s just matured. I cherish every time we play golf, even though I haven’t beaten you yet. And despite the fact that you’ve been playing for almost as long as I’ve been alive, that doesn’t stop our competitiveness or trash talking.
PS: I’ll never forget when we went to Topgolf years ago for Father’s Day, and even though I had pneumonia and could barely stand or swing, you still managed to trash talk.
The balance between relationships I have with you and Mom is what makes ours work so well, and it’s the upbringing that I want when I start a family of my own. There were countless routines unique to us when I was a kid, and those are what I know I will always remember.
I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if it were not for you pushing me through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and, eventually, Eagle Scouts. Through all those years of camping trips, all those experiences and all those lessons, I’m not sure I’d have the same leadership or work ethic in the way I attack my life. There were times I wanted to quit and plenty of times where I was unmotivated, but your direction and courage to work through it is still evident today.
The effort I see from you to provide the life I live and the family that we have will always motivate me to be successful in my career. From the activities we do to the corny jokes you crack that (maybe) get me to crack a grin, thank you for being you. That’s what being a father is all about—providing the best life for your kids.
Father’s Day can be overlooked but is never underappreciated. So to you, Dad, Happy Father’s Day
