30 psychologists named Helen agree that a woman's ability to maintain a healthy relationship with a man in adulthood has everything to do with how well she got along with her father.

You ever hear those girls who call in to Dr. Drew on the radio? The second they start spouting some serious issue, the first thing Drew does is ask about her father -- 99% of the time, the girl would answer that she didn't know who her father was, or that she did and he beat her, or even worse.

Why am I telling you this? Because these are more reasons for me to be as GRATEFUL as I am for having the FATHER that I do. My relationship with my life-partner is healthy, loving, and mutual. Though it sounds a bit odd to those of you who never took psychology 101, I thank my dad for instilling (even inadvertently) in me those tools necessary, those tools I now use, to love and admire another man, and to know better than to allow myself to be used, abused, or unappreciated by him. That is, to CHOOSE a man who would treat me in the respectful, caring way to which I became accustomed.

That's ONE reason I have to thank my dad today, on Father's Day, as he is traveling across country for a business trip.

Here's a picture of my dad doing what he did yesterday, spending time with children at an orphanage in Tijuana:

Dad taught me by example. Sure, I listened to what he said, but it is what he has done, what he continues to do, that resonates most. He gives, he learns, he admits when he's wrong, he loves, he helps, and he knows when to say "No." He is a perfect example of Gandhi's "My life is my message" philosophy.

Here's a pictures of my father, undated, I think it was taken in the Eighties, standing next to HIS father, Grandpa, who has since passed away:

Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Not only am I proud to be your daughter, I am grateful to know you as a person, as my teacher, as my friend. And I love you more than words could ever describe.

Happy Father's Day.

-Barbarella

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