A Blog For My Father Gregory
Posted on June 15th, 2008 in General Blog Song, Dedications, Gregory, Happy Father's Day, Memories, Music, The Niche Life, Travels
Yes, it’s Gregory. Not Greg or Greggy or any of those other nicknames. Well, he does answer to one special name: Daddy.
I’ve said this privately, but I owe all my entrepreneurial drive to those first seeds my father planted in my head. We were watching this beautiful luxury car on tv — man, I had to be all of nine or ten — and he nudges me. “You can have that, if you want.”
Money, Entrepreneur, Kiplinger’s were the financial/business magazine threesome that occupied our father/daughter times. We would watch Jim Kramer and Pardon The Interruption together. We would argue politics, money, business, and life together. And PTI is just ten shades of wonderful, especially when you’re watching it with someone who’s just as sarcastic as you!
In 2003, I made my first bit of money online - a $50 web project that ended so-so, but started making me hungry to keep the pipeline full. I remember running out of the room, talking about PayPal, about web design, and of course money.
I was a busy girl and I came to look forward to my father’s discussions about saving. It’s that wisdom today that allowed me to quit my day job and not completely have a panic attack - I learned to spend on things that made me happy, not just to compete with other folks. I put money back into my company.
My father was busy too — the Army kept him deployed often and busy at the office when he was home. I learned to work hard and appreciate the results of my labors. I never held it against my father that he was away, because I knew it came with the territory. I saw worlds that I wouldn’t have if we had stayed in Chicago or North Carolina. I even learned another language during our travels - German.
I learned the value of an education - my father grabbed his MBA at 41 years old. He’s still taking more classes as he goes along, getting certified in other areas. Always growing. That’s why I love him so much.
Daddy adopted me as part of the package that came along with my Mother, and never looked back, or made a big deal of it. There was no distinction ever made between a biological child and an adopted one. I was always going to be his daughter, and that lesson about unconditional love has to be my #1 pick.
Yes, I know this is a business blog. Yes, I know this is a marketing blog. However, this is a conversation blog too, and how can I have a conversation on Father’s Day without stopping to thank one of the driving forces that pushed me to “stay paid” in the first place?
So, from a wandering woman of niches: Thank you, Daddy. I love you with everything in me, and I’m thankful to have had so many memories with you. I’m honored to have you as my Dad. Happy Father’s Day.
Work hard, play hard, love easily.
Today’s Blog Song (one of his favorites, and mine): Luther Vandross - A House Is Not A Home
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