OPINION: What a father means
Assistant Sports Editor Andrew Surma
If you asked my father about a street address in Allen Park, Michigan, he would likely be able to tell you the name of what family or business resides there.
Since I was born, my dad has woken up every morning, six days a week, to carry mail for the United States Postal Service. It's not glamorous, but it's what he had to do to provide for my mother and two older siblings.
Waking up every morning to walk parcels of mail door-to-door — in rain, snow or 95 degrees — and picking up any overtime shifts he could is what my dad had to do to send his three children to a private, faith-based education.
It is what he had to do to make sure we could play all the sports we wanted, go on a family vacation once a summer and eat out every now and then. It's what he had to do to ensure his children live a better life than he lived. That's the American dream.
Being a father, from a son's perspective, is about daily sacrifice. It's about giving up season tickets to the University of Michigan football games to free up extra money when a new baby arrives in the family. My dad is one example of many men and women playing a paternal role in a child's life, who's been rewarded for putting family first.
In some families, there is no male father for various reasons. Instead, a single mother who plays both roles — sacrificing even more. In others instances, two women play the roles of father and mother. The theme is still the same.
This figure teaches without knowing. My dad showed me a tireless work ethic and the way to the American dream.
On this day, Father's Day, think about what your father figure has taught you — through words or actions — and give gratitude.
