I consider myself an extremely lucky individual. Since the day I was born, I have had a man who believed in me and all that I aspired to be. If I wanted to be an ice road trucker, he stood by me. If my dreams became wanting to be a cattle wrangler, he was there. My father has been an extremely large part of my life, and there are days that I completely take him for granted. In my lifetime, I've met a number of people whose father was MIA. He either was absent emotionally or physically.

It's astounding to me the difference in which a father, or just a father figure can make in a child's life. Just today, I came across a blog that was in regard to "The Fatherless Generation," and the statistics on there were more than astounding. It stated that,

• 63 percent of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average.

• 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.

• 85 percent of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control)

• 80 percent of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes –14 times the average. (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)

• 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (National Principals Association Report)

When you have a father, you seldom think about the outcome of your life had he never gotten to be a part of it. It truly is astounding the difference it makes when fathers are present in their kids' lives. So I say that if you're lucky enough to have your father still around, make sure you reach out to him and thank him for the tremendous things he does every day because. although to you they may be small, those actions are a huge reason for making you the person you are today.