We look professional, and we look good.
In days gone by, older cultures had epic tales of great warriors and mythical beings. Today, we have Star Wars.
I took my dad to see Solo: A Star Wars Story last night, which you can read my thoughts about here, and we both loved it. It was my second time seeing it and I actually enjoyed it more this time than I did the first time.
That's not unusual, though. There are plenty of movies that I've seen with dad that I probably enjoyed more because I saw them with him than if I'd seen them on my own. I made the mistake of giving Johnny Depp's Lone Ranger movie a really high score when I reviewed it for Geek Smash because I saw it with Dad and we both laughed the whole time.
We had a nice steak dinner before hand, we drove about 100 feet from one parking lot to the next, and then we went into the theatre where we shared a bag of popcorn for what turned out to be a great time.
There is no doubt that my love of movies stems largely from my dad. I can remember growing up when there were several days that he would come home from work, I'd be home from school, and he would just say, "Hey. You want to go see...?" And just like that, we'd be off to the AMC in Lawrenceville to see whatever new movie was out that week.
We saw Toy Story, Remember the Titans, The Patriot, U-571, The Mummy, and I could go on and on and on listing out memories I have of seeing great movies with Dad. And the occasional bomb, but we're usually pretty good about knowing if a movie was going to be worth seeing.
He even let me walk into Titanic for a minute while we were at the theatre to see Home Alone 3 (like I said, there was the occasional bomb), and it happened to be a very untimely minute.
We both love movies and we love going to see movies together, and then talking about movies together afterwards. I've been explaining the plots of Star Wars and Marvel movies to Dad since I was 10 because I'm a huge nerd.
As much as we love movies, it isn't like that's the only thing we've shared. When I started working at the Barrow County News (RIP) a few years back, I got to enjoy some pretty unique experiences.
One of the best perks of that job, though, was access to press passes for UGA sporting events. How many people can say they've watched the Dawgs play from the sidelines of Sanford Stadium with their dad? Even better, how many people can say that they've gotten to take pictures of the Dawgs from the sideline of Sanford Stadium with their dad?
Dad got this picture...and then he got mobbed.
Sure, he got to do the 2013 double-OT game at Bobby Dodd Stadium without me, and sure he got dogpiled by the players without me when Sony Michel's walkoff OT TD against Georgia Southern happened literally right on top of him, but we've had some really cool moments together at Sanford Stadium.
Even when we're just there in the stands watching games together, we've gotten to take in some incredible moments. We saw perhaps the worst quarterback ever have the best game ever when we hung "half a hundred" on Spurrier in 2015. That was special.
Dad and I have shared some really cool moments together, from movie theatres to football stadiums. And of course the three years of doing sports journalism side-by-side at all kinds of high school and little league events. Those are moments I wouldn't trade for anything.
In all of that, as cool as the moments were that we shared together, the second-greatest thing that my dad shared with me was his time. I know I can be a little bit obsessive about the details of football games I've seen and movies I've seen, but none of those details stand up to the fact that my dad took time to be with me.
It was great getting to pay back Spurrier for his "half a hundred" comment back in 1996, but it was even better being there together. I loved seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and seeing that legendary scroll on the big screen, but I loved even more getting to see it with my dad sitting next to me.
Now that I have a son, I love every moment I get to be with him. Okay, so maybe the times when he's crying and screaming and inconsolable aren't the best, but he is just such a precious little ball of fun that I can't help but love him. The longer I'm a dad, the more I understand what it means and what my dad has known for years.
That time we share is one of the greatest gifts we can give anyone. It is irreplaceable, and it can't be taken away.
But time is not the greatest gift my dad has given me.
The single greatest gift that my dad has given me, better than any afternoon in Sanford Stadium, or even better than that time he got me a lightsaber and a bathrobe for Christmas so I could pretend to be a real Jedi, is the love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My dad has always made sure that I was raised in the Truth. He didn't leave it to chance, he didn't let the world lead me whatever way I wanted to go. He didn't cop-out by saying, "Well, I don't want to force my religion on him."
My dad understood that teaching your children the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ is the highest calling that a father has. And that is exactly how I was raised.
I am forever grateful that my father had the courage and wisdom to teach me about the Gospel and to raise me in a home where the name of Jesus was praised and honored above all else.
As my son grows up, I hope that I can teach him as effectively about the Gospel as my dad taught me. I hope that I can be the role model of faith that my dad was for me.
I really hope one of our hobbies is game-face making, because he's already a boss at that.
I have no idea what kind of hobbies me and Little K might share together. Maybe we'll go to movies together, call the Dawgs together. We might take up knife making or accordion or hovercraft racing. Who knows?
But the one thing I know that I will share with my son is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I hope that he receives it. Since day one, I've been praying that he would come to understand that Gospel when he is old enough.
A lot of that rests on me and my heart for sharing it with him. Of everything I can share with my son, none is more important than this.
NOTE: I am in no way minimizing the responsibility of wives and mothers with this post. My mother is one of the Godliest women in the world and I have learned so much from her...but this post is about Father's Day and my relationship with my dad, so...yeah. Okay? Okay.