Whether you are sitting, standing, leaning or laying down, and whether you are reading this article in the morning while eating fast food breakfast, at night after a tiring day of work with well-needed hours of rest awaiting you, or while starved in the middle of a rushed lunch, I want you to take a moment and stop. I promise your work will be there when this article is over and you can return to the busy, rushing world when you're done, but for just a moment, there is someone I want you to meet, someone who has made a difference in my life every day. His name is Dad.
   If you did not meet him now, you probably would not be able to identify his gift if you saw him walking on the street. You probably would not know that the dark brown eyes you see are the same ones that laugh out with joy when I tell a joke or smile at one of his, or that his hands are the same ones that tuck the soft cotton sheet covers over my body and pulling them tight, a father ritual, just to make me laugh and feel special. At first glance you probably would not know that his gentle smile is the same one that has given me encouragement not just when I have succeeded, not just when everyone is watching and I have made him proud, but when everyone else is gone and failure's ugly head has shown his face again.
   It took me a while to realize why it is important to take a moment out of life's busy schedule to appreciate my dad. It took a moment to realize how I take advantage of our time together joking around the family dinner table or snuggle in bed together with mom watching the Thursday episodes of ER. But then it all started to make sense. I realized that it is the people we take advantage of most or appreciate least that mean the most to us.
   I hope my dad sounds familiar to you. I hope you can identify someone in your own life that means as much to you as he does to me and I hope that you will be as courageous to do what I will do now before you miss the opportunity later on. Dad, I am who I am today because of you. You're unconditional support, love, motivation and most importantly, your humor encourages me to see the brighter things in life. It encourages me to laugh a little more, worry a little less, smile a little brighter and strive a little harder. Thank you, Dad. For everyone else, you can return to your daily chores demanding schedules, but do yourself a favor. Do not forget who you have met today. You may never be as privileged to meet a man as great ever again.