Some of us become parents and trip through it with the grace of a rhino in a Japanese tea garden. Others flow into the job with the naturalness of a river. My husband is one of those fathers who seems born to parent.
Without thought, he puts his kids first. As some of you know, he is a lawyer. He could be wealthier than he is now, more prominent in his profession, if he didn't put his kids first. He is rarely home later than 6 p.m. every night, sometimes earlier if he is coaching. When other attorneys try to schedule something for after 5 p.m. he refuses because he wants to be home with his family. He doesn't work on weekend ordinarily and if he must, he brings his stuff home and works on it in his office.
There are nights I watch him come home, the exhaustion apparent in the glaze of his eyes and the stiffness of his step. I know all he wants is to sit down on the couch and watch a ball game until its time for dinner. But then the Diva demands he play soccer or baseball with her. He never turns her down. Tired, he drags himself out there and plays with her.
When we bought our house, his primary interest was how it would fit with our kids. As he went about planning the landscape of his yard, he tried to create a place his kids would enjoy. He took an old shed in the back yard and worked for a month to make it a play house for the kids. Our yard is full of fruit trees and blue berry bushes because that is what our kids like. He wants them to have the experience of picking their own fruit, encouraging them to eat healthy things.
Our weekends are generally devoted to the kids. Saturdays are quite often sports and Sunday mornings are spent at the local farmer's market. My daughter doesn't like me to go because this is a special time for her and her daddy. My daughter's teacher told me she loves seeing my kids with their dad because they adore him. They shower him with affection which he returns with unabashed enthusiasm. And his attention isn't reserved just for his kids. He is popular with other kids as well. He coaches baseball and the kids think he's great.
I think my children learn a great lesson from this man. Not only how to be a great parent but other things. I hope my daughters realize how valuable they are. Their father ensures them everyday about how much they are loved and cherished. I hope as they enter adulthood they realize this is the type of love they should be looking for in their relationships. I hope my son understands what it means to be an adult, a father and a man through the example set by their father.
I hope everyone has a lovely father's day. I have an awesome catch for a husband and a man who truly knows what it means to be a father.
On another note....
Teresa has a new post at Age of Enlightenment for you 18th century history enthusiasts and Olivia talks about regaining her creativity over at Villa in Tuscany.
