Father's Day

I can imagine me winning some sort of prize in heaven and getting to stand in the Number Two spot in Mark Dahl's line.  I was maybe high-fiving my siblings over our good luck.  (Were they all so tall in heaven?  Was I able to high five them or did they have to bend down for me?)

There's something about my dad.  He's a classy dresser but heeds no mind to what is in style.  People notice him and pay attention to him but he is quiet.  A charismatic introvert.  He is self disciplined and hard working and inventive and something of a dreamer.

He is an artist who creates beauty and the house he built for his family is situated to capture both sunrises and sunsets and all the mountain views that can fill your eyes.  Because that matters to him.

My dad can be gruff and no nonsense and intimidating to future sons-in-law but he is kind and forgiving and affectionate too.  He has a soft heart and cries easily.  He is a man of God and knows who he is and what he should do.  He's a person you want on your side because he'll drop everything for you if you need him and chances are, if there's a problem to solve, he can do it.

(He's also very, very funny.)

I am sure the dad I was blessed to have helped me find the right sort of husband.  I wouldn't have settled for a man that wasn't strong and upright and good because that was what I knew.

When I fell in love with Adam, I knew he would be a good husband but I didn't think about him being a good father.  It's hard to separate the two anyway.  The best gift you can give a mother is to love her children.

Adam is the kind of dad who thinks of his children's comfort before his own.  He's the dad that buys everyone a milkshake on the way home from a camp out but makes sure everything is put away before the kids can rest.  He reads to our kids, both from novels they choose and the scriptures.  He challenges their thinking and doesn't accept weak answers or any sort of sass to their mother.  Adam works hard to provide any opportunities for our children that he can.  He wants to let them shine.  He wants to pay for Emma to have the expensive hiking boots and Braeden the reliable car and Mark to go to his homeschool swim program while he contentedly drives the nineteen year old rattle trap.  He doesn't want anything really except for his family to be happy.

This is the dad my children will remember.

He's the dad that takes his kids to Disneyland even though it isn't really his dream.  He'll carry Mark's sweatshirt for him and he'll put it on his head so his hands are free to hold his kids' hands.

That's the kind of dad he is.

(He's also very, very funny.)