father's day 2014

I suppose every man learns to be a father by watching his own father.  Much like mothers, you look at your own and decide what you'll do the same and what you'd do completely different.  And then it surprises you one day when those words you thought you'd never say come out of your own mouth.  We can't ever get away from the influence of our parents.  As children our parents are our world.  Funny how we spend years fighting for independence from them, and then become them.

As an only child, the hubs had next-to-no experience with babies before having his own.  Children were a huge learning curve for both of us.  And while perhaps we didn't do everything right, I know we've always tried our best.  Back before the hubs and I got married, we were talking about if we would have kids.  I was on the fence.  And he never was.  The hubs always knew he'd be a dad.  And he turned out to be a great one.  

It surprises me to get to my [advanced] age, and to never have noticed that I didn't think about fatherhood much until the hubs became a father (and I became a mother, since it happened at the same time).  I didn't put much thought into my dad while growing up, in that I didn't evaluate his role as my "father" and I didn't know what a father was "supposed" to do.  All I knew was that my dad was my dad, and that's all I needed to know.  It sounds trite, and I don't mean it to.  I just mean that growing up, there wasn't a bevy of movies showcasing the "perfect dad," the way men these days always get held up to the dashing romantic comedy lead, wherein every boyfriend is bound to fall short.  But in my case, growing up I had no movie-version father to compare my father to, and I was perfectly content with that.  I wish my dad could have seen me as a parent, known the hubs as a dad, to his grandkids.  Because that's when it really comes full circle.

Happy Father's Day, Josh - giver of endless shoulder rides and swing pushes, kisser of boo boos, provider of Teddy Graham and juice and goodnight kisses, dancer extraordinaire who twirls Britton to endless loops of "Beauty and the Beast," the best dad our kids could ask for.