by Sam deFigueiredo, opinions editor

I see my dad every night for family dinner.

Even if we end up ordering a pizza or eating leftovers, he never misses a meal. We talk about our day and that new YouTube video we saw and occasionally he tells a riddle that takes my sisters and me weeks to decipher. We talk and make jokes and laugh.

I see my dad at every airport arrival terminal.

Whether it be a 2 A.M. weeknight arrival, or a 6 A.M. weekend arrival at an airport three hours away, he will always be at baggage claim, waving with a smile on his face. He makes sure to stop at Buc-ees to buy me my favorite candy bar.

I see my dad typing on his computer before I go to sleep.

He will help me to perfect my assignments the night before they are due. It may be an unimportant homework, but he will still dissect my writing until it is flawless.

I see my dad in the stands at every sports practice.

When I used to swim, my dad would sit through my two hour practice every day watching intently. As a novice swimmer, he corrected my poor form and as I improved he would compliment my progressing technique to encourage me.

I see my dad sharing his food.

If I don’t like the fish I order for dinner at a restaurant, my dad will always switch his steak with my dish. If I finish eating and my stomach is still growling, my dad will push his plate over to me and insist that he was full anyways.

I don’t see that my dad hates fish, but he ate my meal anyways because he couldn’t bear to see me disappointed with my choice.

I don’t see my dad eating cereal at home after dinner because he let me finish his meal at the restaurant.

I didn’t see him struggling to focus in the humid and loud natatorium, trying to complete important work in between my sets.

I don’t see the emails from my dad’s colleagues and the mountains of work that he has to ignore because he is still editing the second sentence of my minor essay.

I don’t see my dad exhausted while waking up early the morning after the late night drive home from the airport to work a 12-hour day while I sleep in.

I don’t see my dad going back to his lab every night at midnight after lively household meals to make up the work that he left to come home early.

But I do see my dad every night for family dinner.