It’s Father’s Day. A day that used to be so hard for me. I would hear the other kids talk about homemade cards, family grill outs and baseball games and I would wonder if you were even thinking of me. I would wonder if you were celebrating with your other kids, the ones you decided to love. The hardest part was…I had to wonder.
Well, I want you to know that I don’t have to wonder anymore. Because when it comes to Father’s Day, I now celebrate with my whole heart and can now pay tribute to the fathers in my life. The ones who chose to be loving, caring men. The ones my children look up to. My life began without a father figure and I am now lucky enough to be surrounded by them and I can tell you this – you sure are missing out.
At eleven years old, I got my real dad. Mom married the love of her life and although things were shaky from time to time (as all blended families are), he is our rock and my role model. He worked very hard, was very successful and loves his family. He is a quiet leader and my children – his grandchildren – love him immensely. He has supported me in a way that only a father could and I want nothing more than to make him proud. He started to take that wonder away.
And three and a half years ago, I got to experience fatherhood from the very beginning. I got to see the look on my husband’s face when he saw his son for the first time. And then his daughter eighteen months later. I never saw that look as a small child, which made that moment even more powerful. How lucky are my babies? Their father, the love of my life, wants to move mountains for them. He wants to protect them, teach them, guide them and love on them – day in and day out. He misses them when he’s at work and he kisses them on the lips. He cried after our son was born because he was overwhelmed with love. He learned to be a dad from his own father, who taught him well. I do not ever have to wonder what a real man – a real father – looks like anymore.
So you are off the hook and have been for a while. I spend Father’s Days helping my kids make homemade cards, grilling out with our family and teaching our kids how to play baseball. Most importantly, I spend the day thanking the men in my life who are wonderful fathers, each and every day. They’ve loved, they’ve hugged, they’ve committed…they’ve stayed.