Guest Opinion

By KYLE HOLMES

Special to The Press

Growing up in my family was fun and easy. Why? I have had the privilege of experiencing what is very uncommon in today's family lifestyles. My parents, Dan and Lori Holmes, as of this Nov. 12, will have been happily married for 29 years. They raised my brother, sister and me on the foundations of the Bible, and taught us early on what it meant to be a person with values and integrity. But this letter isn't about the success of my family; it is about the man who made my family a love and joy filled success.

Dad,

You've always been like a father to me. Even though you have told me most of my life that my real father was a traveling knife salesman, I now know, based off my early stage balding and uncanny resemblance, that you are in fact my real dad.

For starters I have to say thank you. I am the man I am today because you were the father you were, when I was growing up. Looking back on my life there were a lot of things I didn't understand that you did and there were also a lot of things you did, that I didn't agree with. But as a kid, I now realize, it wasn't for me to understand or agree with; you did everything that was needed to ensure we were fed, that we were protected and that we would be educated in order to have a future.

A lot of fathers in today's world get two long "S" words mixed up: Sacrifice and Selfishness. By the grace of God you understood that it took sacrifice to bring our family to what we are today. You gave up the better part of eight years with us to work in Alaska on the fishing boats to make sure we were taken care of and provided for and that was something I could not have fully understood until now, writing you this letter from Afghanistan, with my wife and all of the family back home. It takes a certain kind of man, and a deep love to leave his family for a time in order to better take care of them, and you are that man.

Never have I thought that there was a limit to your love. It didn't matter what it was, you were there. You drove me to Arizona when I left home for college and when the roads became an unplowed nasty snow covered waste land, I wasn't worried; my dad was behind the wheel.

Whenever there was a big choice in my life to make, whether it was buying a car, getting a tattoo or joining the Navy, you were always there to tell me ALL the negatives about each one of them. That drove me crazy! But it also made me think of each one of those choices more thoroughly and I ended up making the right choice instead of the quick, excited decision. Bet you wish I'd listened a little more with the whole military one now, haha. Sorry about that, but also like you, when I make my mind up on what I'm going to do, there's not much stopping me.

You are the hardest working man I know. When I tell people that you built the businesses from the ground up, it is meant very literally. From the pouring of the foundation to the painting and everything in between, your hands were a part of it. Not only that, you also grew the pizza place into the restaurant that it is today. Over the years, though, pizza wasn't the only thing that grew inside those walls - you grew Joel and me into the men we are today.

You taught us what it means to be hard workers, you showed us, whether we liked it or not, that attention to detail was essential, and being able to watch you over the years and how you handled relationships with customers that turned into friends which turned into a community that loves you and respects you, has given me the knowledge and skills to go out and be unafraid of the world.

I know there isn't a thing that I can't do, because you have shown me what is possible with hard work and dedication. You were and still are the prime example of what it means to be an honest, hard-working man, with unshakable morals. I know that I will be successful as a father, a husband and in my life in general because I have you as my dad to mirror, and I know you did it right because you followed what our Father in Heaven told you to do.

In my life you have also been a part of some of the most intriguing experiences. You sat behind me on the very first flight I took with Mrs. Cox; you were there when I graduated from Naval Air Traffic Control School; the first time I scuba dove was in the Caribbean with you and it was in your car that I drove 150 mph for the first time (thank you for not killing me when you found out). Remember the time you adamantly told me the 220-volt line was turned off and that I needed to cut it, and it then exploded in my face and set off a Fourth of July-like show with sparks and the screams of a little girl? Well, yes, the screams were mine, but again... thank you for not killing me then also.

I love you, Dad. Because of you I have had a life of crazy and great experiences, I have accomplished more things than the average 60-year-old, and I have been instilled with a love for my family that is unending. Thank you for the laughter that made our stomachs hurt, the love that overwhelmed our hearts, and a life so full of joy that I can say I am proud and honored to call you my Dad. Not many people can grow up and say their dad is their best friend. Thank God we're not like many people, because that is exactly what you are, my best friend... my daddio.

Happy 50th birthday.

Your Son,

Kyle