My dad is the reason I'm not married yet

I realize that that statement makes it sound like he stands at the door with a shotgun every time I bring a date home and I can neither confirm nor deny that supposition... just kidding. I realized tonight, though, while talking with some of the girls in my program, that it is true that my dad's the reason I'm not married yet, but the reasons aren't bad. Here's why:

1. My dad is supportive. Totally. On Monday night, I called him to tell him about a presentation I did and we ended up talking about class. Now, Daddy's an engineer, so Victorian literary criticism and theory isn't exactly his thing. But it is mine, so he listened while I went on about what an exciting class it was. And I'm realizing that because I've chosen such a highly competitive profession (the term "publish or perish" exists for a reason), I'm going to need a spouse who's incredibly supportive.

2. My dad isn't afraid of sacrifice. Ever since I can remember, he's worked for pharmaceutical companies, which means that buyouts happen a lot, so his job changes too. Right now, he's working an hour away from where my family lives because my mom and brothers are at good schools and they decided not to uproot the family this year. I think that's pretty awesome.

3. My dad is calm. Now, most of the time I pride myself on thinking and acting logically, but I do have a slightly dramatic bent to my personality, so sometimes I need to freak out. Like when I got that horrible sunburn the other week: I called him crying and yelling because it hurt so bad. He listened, then calmly told me what to do to make it better and called back the next morning to check on me. And I was a little better physically, but it just helped to have someone who could be logical so I could just react. This also ties in with number 1 above-I'm sure my freaking-out days won't be over when I get whatever degree I end up with, so I'll need someone to balance me out when I'm upset.

4. My dad is totally, completely, 100% in love with my mom. She is definitely the most important thing in his life and it's really sweet to watch the two of them. They are human, so their relationship isn't perfect, but it's a good one and they're good together. And really, more than anything, that's what I want.

So my dad is the reason that I'm not married yet, because I haven't found anyone so far who can live up to the ideal he's given me. But whenever I find him, I know it will be worth it.