I love Christmas season and I have for my entire life. It is, bar none, my favorite holiday of the year. I love it for religious reasons, for secular reasons, for all the reasons (including the delicious and decadent food we all eat way too much of). But I also recognize that Christmas can be a difficult, lonely, and sad time of year for many.
Over the past 12 years or so, I have felt this a little more closely since I lost my father to cancer. Since his birthday is also in December, the whole month can be a struggle sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful for all of the years I did get with my dad (more than a lot of children do, sadly) but celebrating Christmas without him always comes with a tinge -- sometimes a lot more than a tinge -- of grief, sadness, and loss.
I know there are many in the world who are much worse off and whose loss and loneliness are far greater than my own. After all, I still have the rest of my family, and I am still able to share Christmas with them.
Still, sometimes I just miss my dad and it hurts.
This week, there was a thread on Twitter that hit all the right feels to remind me to be grateful even in those times when the sadness hits. There is nothing specifically Christmas-related about this thread, it is just a thread of wonderful dads being wonderful dads. But Christmas season seems to be the perfect time for it. Some of these are older tweets or clips, but it was pretty wonderful to see them all collected together in a thread.
You may want some tissues for this one, but in the end, I hope it makes you feel how it made me feel: thankful for my father and all of the great fathers out there today.
Dads - A thread 🧵
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
1. Dad doing things right pic.twitter.com/TwVEJfpFYu
She's got him wrapped around her little finger already. As she should.
2. Dad showing off his skill to the surprise of his little daughter in Melbourne, Australia, ca. 1940s pic.twitter.com/JGnwAKOLV0
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Whoa. I, umm, cannot do that. I am pretty sure my dad couldn't either.
But even more impressive than the one-armed handstand is the look of wonder and delight on his daughter's face.
3. Being a dad mean sometimes making a fool of yourself for their enjoymentpic.twitter.com/0hCJHqhAQO
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
You come home after a long day at work and maybe you just want to collapse on the couch. But when you are a dad, you play along. Why? The only reason you need is to watch the reaction of this dad's sons when he 'accidentally' steps into their booby trap.
It kind of reminds me of maybe one of the greatest dad commercials ever:
A classic. And it will never get old.
4. A loving single dad adopted a girl with Down syndrome after she was rejected by 20 families. pic.twitter.com/o8s8rdQi1d
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
That's just beautiful.
5. Dad's still your heropic.twitter.com/Y2PLvm6wvq
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
No matter how old we get or how much we accomplish in our lives, our dads are always our heroes and will always be there for us.
6. A Texas dad sold off his business and built a $51 million amusement park for his disabled daughter with free admission for everyone with special needs. It has had over a million visitors, with one-third of its staff with special needs pic.twitter.com/uqDYADYXII
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Wow. It goes to show that there is no limit to a dad's love for his child.
7. A little girl taking pictures of her dad who had just graduated. It was just two of them pic.twitter.com/nL3XuUent0
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
I would love to see those two in another 10 years or so at her graduation, and the exact same picture with their roles reversed.
9. Dad reflexespic.twitter.com/Nb7FNZZbQh
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Yikes. Some of those scenes are pretty scary, but there is no ninja in the world with faster reflexes than a dad protecting his child.
10. Dad's Love pic.twitter.com/HTIGQHICrY
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
And you will never have a greater cheerleader in your life than your dad.
11. When Daddy Takes Charge Of Playtime pic.twitter.com/w395WaGujd
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
And yes, our dads can be goofballs. That's why we love them.
12. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/nzFnPRrDfP
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
You never stop being your dad's little girl or little boy. Never.
14. Like Father, Like Son pic.twitter.com/Mzw9mU0zNl
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Need a role model in life? Look no further than your dad.
17. First time seeing her car that dad bought herpic.twitter.com/S9xlwBCZjY
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
I love this one because mom and dad bring this gift to their daughter while she is at work.
And sometimes, the daughter can return the gift later ...
8. Dad is admiring a car he sees parked in a restaurant parking lot, it reminds him of his old car that he had to sell to to help raise kids. He's reminiscing and telling stories, then the daughter hands him the keyspic.twitter.com/ChHkt533BW
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
The greatest gift, of course, is just a dad's love.
18. Dad surprises daughter and puts up a performance for her birthday
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
When her friend brushed her hair I could not hold back the tears any longer..
All the other students cheering reaction made this even better.pic.twitter.com/lN2o8KP7Wv
Here are some more dads being goofballs, playing along, and showing their love:
19. What a great thing, having a dad like thatpic.twitter.com/KzZo4i6Z9e
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
The only reward dads need is their child's laughter and happiness.
21. The baby who imitated his beatboxer father became a legendpic.twitter.com/bj1bC6jGGN
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Even if they don't have much to give, they still give everything they have.
23. A little girl didn’t expect a cake on her birthday since her dad couldn’t afford one. But he surprised her with just a slice.pic.twitter.com/96LpzhNM5j
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
26. Father & Daughter pic.twitter.com/DbBVkRAf9L
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
27. When you get older and realize that a magical childhood is the result of your parent’s effortpic.twitter.com/LMfNCQajF7
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
I posted the last few tweets without comment because it was getting a little dusty in my room.
28. Father and son 30 years later. pic.twitter.com/z5LwfZ56zZ
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
29. The bond between a father and his daughter is forever. pic.twitter.com/8dIECLXtrS
— Wolf of X (@tradingMaxiSL) December 10, 2024
Sons, daughters, it doesn't matter. Our dads love us for eternity.
There are more tweets in that thread if you want to check them out, but I think those last two are a good place to stop.
I missed my dad a lot while looking at all of these tweets, but it was a good kind of grief. Because this thread reminded me of all my dad did for me, how he is still watching over me today, and why he will always be my hero.
I am a little biased, granted, but I had -- and have -- the greatest dad in the world. The fact that all of these kids above ALSO have the greatest dads in the world too doesn't change that. It just confirms that all our dads are the best.
And being my father's son is the only Christmas gift I will ever want or need.
