madlymads : long drives & dad

I hate 12 hour days.

Such a disaster.

I wake up at 6.

Drive to Midvale.

Get there at 7:50.

Class starts at 8.

Ends at 6.

Drive home.

Get home at 7.

Eat dinner.

Lay down.

Out.

Out like a light.

Until the next day..

then....

I wake up at 6.

Drive to Midvale..

etc.

So repetitive. And ridiculous. Luckily, it's almost over. I am doing a course that is a prerequisite for the nursing program I will be applying for in August. I have 3 classes I have to take starting in Jan. And then I am all set to get going with my life. My nursing plans really changed when I decided to pick up and move to Utah. Especially since I planned to go back to California, but got married. To the most incredible man I might add. And I am now stuck here until he is finished with his under-grad at BYU.

Today when I was driving home, I got to thinking about my dad.
He works an hour and a half from our home in California. And has commuted for the last 10 or 11 years. Most recently, the last 5 years or so, he has done it with a bad back. He wakes up at 3:30 am to make it to work by 5:30 or 6 am. And then works until 5:30 or 6 pm. And makes the 1:30-2 hour drive home, with no time to visit. He eats dinner, goes to bed, wakes up and does it all over again. Growing up I didn't really appreciate it, I just thought...he's a dad. That's what dads do. But now that I am married, and working really hard to provide a good future for my husband, and our children it's really opened my eyes. Especially this last week. And although my sacrifice isn't as great as my dad, and it hasn't been nearly as long. It has opened my eyes to the back pain, the horrible traffic, the early hours, and the sacrifice he has made for so long. So...

Dear Dad,

I just wanted to tell you thank you.

Thank you for sacrificing countless hours of sleep.

Thank you for suffering the pain of a hurt back, and sore bum.

Thanks for working so hard.

Thanks for doing what it took to provide for us.

Thanks for letting us live comfortably.

Thanks for making the BIG sacrifices, like;
moving us out to Murrieta so we could

go to better schools, and live in a better area.

Thanks for driving the extra 30 minutes so I could spend time with

Grandma and Grandpa after we moved.

Thanks for making sure we always had shoes on our feet

and food in our tummies.

It wasn't always easy.

Sometimes we were really loud when you were trying to sleep.