I've learned a lot of important lessons from my dad. As a teacher, my dad has the knack of getting a lesson through to you in a memorable way. I remember one morning sitting at the breakfast table as a kid and dad turned the Aunt Jemima syrup upside down with the cap still on. The thick goldeny syrup poured to the narrow neck of the bottle, leaving only a little space at the bottom of the upside down container. "Now, is there more syrup in this container?" A math lesson of volume and capacity at the breakfast table.
My dad taught me a lot about many different things--how to save money, how to start a campfire properly, how to pitch a tent, read a compass, about the importance of saying "I'm sorry" in a relationship, about spirituality, theology, religion and relationship. Lessons you think we never listened to as kids, but ones that have hung on since childhood.
Dad, I know we gave you a lot of sleepless nights even into our twenties. Nights when each of us came home well after midnight and there you were sitting at the computer screen pretending there was nothing else better to do than be on the computer at 1:00 am. But the moment our doors clicked closed for the night, off the computer screen went and you could finally sleep, knowing we were all at home. I think I might know a little bit of what that will be like. Thank you for worrying over us, praying for us and loving us.
And to this man in our lives, whose patience, intuition and innate parenting skills continue to impress me. When things get completely crazy around here, he always find some way to calm the chaos and keep us on an even keel. It is clear how much the littles adore this father of theirs, how much they dislike him going to work and watch for him at the window to come home. Despite full days of work and trying to complete a masters, he still has a seemingly endless supply of energy to go for bike rides, play hockey, go camping in the back yard, read a million books and sit with Gabriel forever until he goes to sleep. I can only hope that as they grow up, they continue to admire and want to be like their dad as much as young adults as they do now. They have every right to be pretty darn proud of this man, just as I am. Parenthood is just such an amazing, tumultuous and life-changing journey as you watch these little creatures unfurl before your very eyes and you just pray you aren't screwing them up too badly and that really you are giving them the best nurturing foundations to be successful in life. I'm just so thankful that I get to be on this journey with this man.
Happy Father's Day to our fathers, my husband and all the other important men of influence in our lives. Your presence in our lives as models of compassion, strength, hard work ethic and loyalty are invaluable.
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