Daddies Rock

Sure, playing with the fire hydrant sounds like a great idea. Why not?

“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad” is one of my favorite sentiments. My kids are fortunate to not only have a Dad, but also a Daddy–a manly man who happens to be a mush, too. Daddies rock.

My husband and I returned home from our overnight getaway–24 hours off of work, household chores, and toddler and teenager demands can feel like 24 days if you’re desperate enough for a vacation–to typical kid chaos. Within a two-hour time-frame, we gave Ashley the green light to invite friends over, fed Alex his dinner, gave him a bath, and took him for an evening stroll. I was pushing him along as usual when Scott suddenly grabbed Alex’s foot and pulled him at a quicker pace, which made him break out into hysterics. He whipped him around the corner, brushed his bare feet against wildflowers, and carried on like a lovable lunatic just to make him laugh. Alex has a high pitched shriek of a laugh only for his Daddy.

I thought about how lucky my son is to see the world through Scott’s eyes. He points out the airplanes in the sky, lets him touch the trees hugging the sidewalks, and gives him his own pieces of nature to hold (i.e. sinister looking sticks from a Mommy’s vantage point). He dangles Alex upside down, chases him around the house, and encourages him to climb to the edge of the couch. Some of the rough-housing may contribute to my premature wrinkles, but I know in my heart he will never let him fall.

Alex cuddling with his Daddy right before bed tonight. They're quite a pair. I love my boys!

Daddy’s not all fun and games all of the time. He reads bedtime stories with animation, gives the warmest hugs, changes Bad Time Dumping Syndrome (BTDS) diapers without plugging his nose, takes trips to wholesale stores to stock up on baby supplies, and breaks out his reading glasses to ensure he puts toys together correctly. I razz him by calling him Mr. Safety, but the truth is he is what I longed for my entire life.

Tomorrow I celebrate all that is Daddy. I won’t try to stop him before he sneaks Alex out of the house in his pajamas with remnants of breakfast all over his face. I’ll pretend I think it’s a good idea to let him play with Tic Tacs as a makeshift rattle in the backseat of the car. The words, “Scott! That’s making me nervous!” will not cross my lips. After all, he did most of his crazy antics with Ashley, and her heart truly belongs to her Daddy. Mine does, too.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the Daddies out there!