Top 5 Reasons our Dad's #1

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.

-Pope John XXIII

1. Dad’s very understanding. As his kids, we’re very fortunate that we don’t have to worry about dad getting real angry when things don’t go exactly as planned. Just ask Anna, who’s had about as many traffic tickets as she’s had birthdays. Or Caroline, who got pulled over tonight. Twice. Granted, the argument could be made that they learned it from him. I’ll never forget the day he received a letter from the DMV in the mail stating “Robert, your drivers license is no longer suspended”. “That’s good”. He wasn’t aware it was suspended in the first place!
2. He’s a very hard worker, and it’s made him very successful. I’ll never forget the day when I was in elementary school and they sat us down for a “family meeting”. Mom & Dad explained to us that Dad had been laid off at the bank, and was going to work for himself. “We think this is really a blessing…Dad’s been wanting to open his own firm for a long time”. We were too young back then to know how scary this must have been for them.For many years tax season was a very stressful time for him, yet at home you could barely tell a difference.
   
   And even though tax season and soccer season overlapped, it was a rare case that he wasn’t sitting beside Big Bob during Goob’s games cheering their team on. Getting laid off did turn out to be a huge blessing, and we’re in awe of what Dad has been able to accomplish in his career, without ever neglecting his family in the process.
3. He’s a giving man. It’s no secret that he’s been amazingly generous to us, and for that we could never repay him enough. But he’s often just as generous to complete strangers. Several years back, Dad walked into his office one morning to find a young man trying to thieve his computer. Through some masterful negotiation, he talked the kid out of stealing his computer. Instead of having him arrested, Dad took him over to Broadway Fashions and bought him some new kicks, which is what he really needed.
4. He’s forever supportive. I’ll never forget the night in 2003 that I met the fam at Houston’s in Buckhead. We’d barely ordered our drinks before I handed Dad a two page, typed document outlining a crazy plan I’d hatched to spend a semester on a sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico. Never mind that neither he nor I really had any sailing experience, by the time we got to Starbucks after dinner, he was 100% on board. That was a life-defining trip for me, and it couldn’t have happened without the support of he and Mom.
   
   One more story of support… About a year ago, us Cordle kids went through a bit of a rough patch. Through a series of misunderstandings or unfortunate events, all three of us were struggling. I was in jeopardy of losing my job, Goob had been accused of plagiarism, and Anna was accused of hazing. We all laughed when someone would ask how we were doing, and he would casually mention our various situations, then emphasize how proud he was of how we were handling them. (For what it’s worth, I’m still employed, Goob still graduated, and Anna’s still a Zeta.)
5. He is the most loving father that anyone could hope for. Rarely does a day go by when he doesn’t tell us he loves us, whether it be in person, by phone, an email, or a text. But not only do we know he loves us, he’s also a very loving husband. We can only pray that one day we’ll have a relationship as good as our parents. The example they’ve set is something we’re thankful for every single day.

Dad, sorry that Anna & I couldn’t be there to hang out with you on Father’s Day this year. I was sorry to hear that you ended up working most of the day, then I realized that Goob was in town, and it made sense. Kidding. We enjoyed getting to see your office a few weeks ago, and hopefully you’ll be able to use the pictures we left to brighten it up a bit.

Although sometimes we may not show it as much as we should, we appreciate you more than you can imagine, and we absolutely know that you’re the Best Dad Ever.

Love You!

-B, AC, & C