Dale PriceFor years, we can do no wrong in our children's eyes, then as they age, they begin to walk a few steps behind us, maybe pretend they don't know us, and suddenly everything we do from speaking to our mere presence is somehow humiliating to them. While it can be brutal to the ego, good parents know it's not the time to back away but rather to stay close and endure the blows because it's the best way to show them we love them no matter what. One dad, who's been dubbed "Dress-Up Dad," is the perfect example of that. 

For an entire year, Dale Price of Utah dressed up in a different costume to greet his 16-year-old son's school bus each day. He started on the first day of the boy's sophomore year as a joke, then kept going and didn't miss a day, rain or shine, all year long. From Elvis to a princess to a dude sitting on a real toilet reading a paper, Dale Price came up with a variety of costumes -- 170 in all; no repeats -- to keep his show going.

Why? Because while it was fun and provided entertainment for the kids and whole town, ultimately it was a show of love for his son. He told KSL.com: "It's a way of letting him know that we really care about him, but do something a little different ... It's a father's way of [saying I love you]."

He admits coming up with all of the costumes wasn't easy, but he embraced the challenge. Neighbors ended up contributing to help him accomplish his mission.

He kept a blog showing all the various costumes, which is amazingly powerful and makes me cry every time I scroll through it. The time and effort Price put into this elaborate orchestration is just such a visible example of his love and devotion to his son; any child would be lucky to be so embarrassed. It's such a great big reminder of how all the little things we do to keep our children safe and feeling loved -- curfews, kisses, rules, and showing up and cheering our brains out at their events -- may make them cringe now, but are also signs of love, no matter how embarrassing they find them now.

His son, Rain Price, was initially taken aback. He told the Deseret News: "When he did it the first day, I was in shock. You don't want to see your dad dressing up in a wedding dress, waving at you on the bus."

Over time, however, he saw how others enjoyed it and didn't dread it quite so much. He won't thank his dad, however. "I'm not going to reward him for this; his reward is seeing my embarrassment." My guess is that someday -- probably when he has children of his own -- Rain may change his mind and offer profuse thanks to his amazing father.


How do you embarrass your children out of love?


Image via YouTube