You guys don’t hear too much about the elusive Father Cookie because he’s always off working hard. The man has been busy since the day I was born, and there’s no doubt that’s where I get it from. He’s the type who doesn’t sit still. He puts 200% into his job, and when he actually has time off, he’s in the garage doing those vague “dad chores,” or he’s off in the yard doing vague “dad yard work.”
21 years, and I still don’t really know what men do during “man time.”
A hard work ethic doesn’t just happen; you have to learn it from someone who exemplifies it. My father and his brother learned it from their father, and then I learned it from my dad. He taught me to work for what I wanted, to not say, “IF something happens someday,” but “WHEN something happens,” because you can’t doubt it for a second.
My father taught me, if I want something, ask for it. Just because it’s not presented to you on a silver platter, doesn’t mean it isn’t there for the taking. You just might have to work a little harder for it. That has followed me throughout my life, and I cannot tell you how many goals and desires I’ve achieved just for having the willingness to pursue them.
Father Cookie has never doubted me. He’s the biggest proponent of this website, and my biggest fan. Nobody brags harder about their kid than a dad. He thinks I’m smart, but only because I had to work so hard to keep up with him. I’ll never be quite as intelligent as my dad, but I know my smarts and problem-solving come from him.
Father Cookie didn’t inspire this website in an obvious way. He’s not a chef or a baker; if you see him cooking, it’s probably a slab of meat on the grill, or seafood on a special occasion. That’s as far as it goes.
Side note: You can imagine we don’t see eye-to-eye on my vegetarianism. He never stops asking if I want to try whatever meat dish it is that he’s eating. Now you see where I get my persistence from too.
Pine Island, N.Y.
Anyway, Father Cookie inspired this site because he taught me the drive I needed to build it. My father grew up as an onion farmer, who went on to get his degree from the University of Notre Dame. He started at the bottom of the food chain in his career, then climbed higher and higher, and I watched it as I grew up. He has achieved so much, earning prestigious leadership roles that are more than well-deserved and well-fitted for him.
What he doesn’t know is that I’m proud of him too.
When I see what he’s built for himself and for our family, I know I can do anything I so please, as long as I have the determination to keep after it. Would I have ever had the ambition to start a blog, when I knew absolutely nothing about it, without what he’s taught me? Would I have been brave enough to concoct my own recipes from scratch, all the while learning as I go, and be able to shake it off when I fail, if it wasn’t for the diligence he’s demonstrated? Would I keep at it day after day- no matter how busy or frustrated I get – if he didn’t teach me to believe it WILL pay off in the end?
Quite simply, no.
Father Cookie may not have been the one to teach me my culinary skills, but my kitchen expertise wouldn’t matter one bit without the drive to pursue it all. For that, I have Father Cookie to thank. When he says he’s proud of me, it’s the best feeling, and I can only hope to continue to achieve things that make him prouder.
Thanks for being such a supportive, encouraging, motivating father, Dad.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Cook your dads something delicious and give them a big hug.
