My Grumpy Yet Sympathetic Father

For today, I'm going to be talking about my father. My dad is a stern, grumpy man. He's almost 6 feet tall, little overweight, and is currently suffering from high cholesterol. Well, that's what he gets for eating all this crap he ain't suppose to be eating. My dad mostly grew up in America but is from a PR family. He was born there, and grew up in America for a bit then back to PR. He was a geek in his school, hanging with his only buddy, Charlie. My dad grew up in an abusive family. Both parents were strict, and had no tolerance for foolishness. He has 2 sisters, and a brother. (All I know is that he is not the oldest.) My dad loved working with mechanics, like cars and computers and whatnot. He worked in a gas station with his father when he was in high school. He was dating this girl, when he saw my mother. Now, they were both out of high school, and my mom was getting gas for her car. My dad fell in love, but my mom didn't have the same feelings for him. My dad broke up with his girlfriend and chased after my mom. They finally became a couple, and had a few fights. My dad would always get pissed and once almost hit my mother. My mother ended up hitting him and he would drive around the island, coming back, saying that he was wrong and that he was sorry. This would usually happen almost every week. They get into a fight, he drives off, and comes back feeling sorry. He finally took my mother's hand in marriage, and lived in the house built on top of my maternal grandmother's house. It was like an attic since it was on top but it was like a house. Although, very small. Years later, I was born, and my dad joined the army. When I was a few months old, we moved to America. My mom wanted a better life for me. (Truth is, I don't like PR. Where we live, it's kind of ghetto. And my mom knows it. Both of my parents say they're proud that they're ghetto. LOL) Years later, my brother was born. We were both outrageous kids, and since my dad grew up in an abusive family, he didn't have a tolerance for us. He used to hit us, but not necessarily abuse us. My mother was very patient, and didn't want my dad hitting us. She told him that if he ever hit us, they would get a divorce. My dad loved my mother dearly, and hasn't hit us since. My brother was diagnosed with autism, and that's when my dad went insane. He thought that since he was autistic, nothing would go right, and the whole world would collapse. He wasn't very confident about him, and didn't have much patience for him, and still doesn't today. Neither do I. I'm like......the Mini Me Grumpy...Grumpy Jr.....Grumpy clone of my father. Whatever. Now my dad doesn't hit us, but when he's pissed he yells. And I mean, he YELLS. I remember is something that he's trying to fix isn't working with him, he would break it! When we lived in our old house, we had those phones for our house, and my dad was trying to fix it. I was upstairs and my family was downstairs. My dad got pissed and just threw the phone to the ground, making it break into pieces. My brother was extremely scared and ran out, thinking it was his fault. He always thinks it's his fault. I came down later and saw the phone pieces. Now, I'm a good girl, because I do not want to face my father when he's pissed. His strong face, his Adam's Apple bulging, his heavy breathing, his fists tightened, I'm terrified, and hate to see him mad. Even if he's not mad, he's still has that strong face. When it was my 2nd year of middle school, we were having a celebration for Spring Break or something, and my dad came to pick me up. My best friend saw him, and she texted me saying, "Oh my goodness. Your dad is scary. He looks strict. :( <--Sad face" Trust me he is. I don't invite friends anymore now, because I'm afraid of him and his rules. I usually wait until he goes to the field or something for like a week, and I invite my friends over. I invited my best friend during the summer, when my dad was still in Afghanistan. Although, my dad is a grumpy, strict man, he's actually very sympathetic. Just today, I had to watch my brother, and I went to my room when I heard my brother screaming. His computer was messed up and his games kept on glitching, so he's crying out. But, I couldn't help but giggle. I felt bad though. It sounded like he was getting murdered! My parents came back and saw him using my dad's computer. My dad was really sympathetic and offered to make him something. I also remember when I was doing this project for my Civics class and my school laptop just froze and erased everything! He saw me crying and just screaming, "No! NO!" Of course, he couldn't get the data back and I had to start all over. He tried his best and told me to use my thumb drive so it wouldn't happen again. My dad is also very sweet with my mom. I remember their wedding anniversary  My dad was in Iraq or something and he sent flowers and other stuff to her days after their wedding anniversary. He didn't forget it just takes a while for a package to get here. I saw roses, and candies in there. I thought that was sweet. The only thing they fight about--I mean argue about, is when my mother tries to clean and another mess is made, or when my dad tries to fix something and he can't and my mom tries to tell him to stop, when he wants to try to fix it. So, sometimes they would argue about little things, but they love each other very much. I love my dad very much, however, he can be very annoying. Sorry, I had to say that. He's annoying. When I try to ask him a simple question about mechanics, since he works as a computer technician in the Army, he would start with when the technology was first invented and I would never get my answer. So, I just try to look on the internet, because it doesn't tell me long stories. I'm sorry, but  want the answer not when man started to inhabit the Earth. Lastly, my dad always tells me that I was the inspiration to join the Army, and that I wouldn't have the life I have if I weren't born. I love my dad. <3 (heart) He's a gentle giant. Or should I say grumpy giant? Hmm. Oh well. Grumpy, yet sympathetic.