I'm As Lucky as Can Be...

...The Best Daddy In The World Belongs to Me!

If there is one person who makes me feel like I have amounted to anything it's my daddy. He has always been there to back me up on things and though he did/does have to remind he is the parent sometimes. Most daughters are best friends with their mothers but me I was daddy's baby girl.

My daddy had his reasons for not wanting a girl and he was dead set on the name Hunter. Even though they handed him a swaddled little girl, with a pink hat on her head, he called her Hunter and she instantly stopped crying. He swears in that instant his world flipped and he was wrapped around my finger. I became his fishing buddy, his hunting buddy, his gameday buddy, later on I would become his drinking buddy, and grief buddy.

Mike Collins encouraged me to be the best woman of God I could be and taught me that as well. They say God gives you a father on earth to be an example of what the Father in Heaven is like and I must say I am ready to die if that is the case because God must be awesome then.

This man taught me many things and here are the top 10:

1. If you bring kids into this world or you become a parent you never stop being a parent.

My daddy is still very true this statement. He allows his kids to live in the house rent free. You bring a significant other and/or kid then you have to pay. But as long as it's just you trying to make ends meet he doesn't care because you are his child. There have been many times when yes I have been very proud of that. He loved me enough to make sure that I had a roof over my head at all times.

2. Be respectful of elders but don't always take their advice and surely don't let them snoop.

One of the quickest ways to tick my daddy off is to get too much into his business. He has people all the time fuss "Well I told you this and this, you can tell me that." This is where the magic of being my daddy's daughter comes in "Well you offered up that information. I don't tell everything." He and I both hate questions that are snooping questions. We just like bygones be bygones. Do we have anything to hide? No we just don't see why people like having their nose up our butts. For record don't get my dad on that subject.

3. Pray often and to yourself.

I am pretty sure to this day daddy is the reason I hate praying out loud with other people and I do not care for the whole lay hands upon someone. I have "bubble" respect it. Pray for me all you want but don't do it out loud or over me. It gives me the willies and I don't do this to people because I know how uncomfortable it makes me.

4. If you are going to kill either eat it or donate it.

I shot my first kill at the age of three. I shot my first deer at the age of four. Bambi is not a movie watched often by this Disney loving family. One of the favorite stories as me as a kid is me swinging a my rabbit kill by it's ears screaming, "I killed Thumper Mama!" To this day I have donated close to a ton of meat. It goes to families struggling to put meat on the table. I put my skills to use for the good.

5. Survival is something best experienced and not wrote down.

He did this many times to me growing up. He would give me exactly 10 minutes to pack things I needed to survive in the woods for a night and two days. Over time I learned that I only needed a few things. Then I learned to pack ahead of time. Probably why my basement and upstairs closet are set for emergency so that my family can survive.

6. Go where you want and see what you want but remember your roots.

My feet have hit all but one continent. I have been blessed with the wonders I have seen in my young life and I will continue to do so as well. Time passes but I always go home where I can run barefoot and let the screen door slam on my way in.

7. Work as hard as you want but remember to play even harder.

Daddy lived by this. He would work over but then he made sure to make up that hour with us. And when he was called to duty with the army he made sure to send us jokes and funny things because his letter writing was his free time and play time. He always talks about how I make my job be playful so I don't have to worry about that.

8. Don't be intimidated by people smarter than you. Learn from them.

One of the best pieces of advice he has ever given me. I have come across many people way smarter than me in the last few years. My father is right, learning from these people is amazing. From statistics to home remedies I have learned so much. This helped me realize that they weren't always that smart either and you never know when you will be able to teach them something.

9. Feel free to make mistakes (even if someone gave you advice against it) but be sure to learn from the mistake.

My daddy gave me a great piece of advice last year when I was taking some not so great advice from a woman who had been divorced for over 20 something years and she was giving me relationship advice. "Seriously Hunter she is divorced and has been why are you taking relationship advice from someone who has been out of the game for awhile and couldn't even make it work when she was in the game?" Talk about reality check. It was a mistake I had to learn from at that point and learn from it. I did.