Frickin' Awesome Dad

My husband, the father of my children, rocks. I could write page after page about him and his fabulous attributes; he would love this and, when he reads this post, will wonder why on earth I didn't indulge all those words. Alas, dear hubby, I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

Top Ten (o.k, Eleven) Reasons Why Hubby is a Frickin' Awesome Dad:

11. When he gets home from work, he runs in the door to greet his kids.

10. At bedtime, he plays classical music to calm everyone down (and created a Pandora channel dedicated to bedtime chill tunes).

9. He resonates calm when his children's mother is a raving, exhausted, spent, out-of-patience bitch (not that she's like that a lot, but if she happens to be like that...ahem).

8. He likes going to the grocery store with his kids.

7. He accepts constructive input on his parenting skills (WOW--I try to emulate him. Truly I do.)

6. He possesses magic, mystical powers and can take both Abby and Henry from tantrum to belly laugh in roughly one minute and 39 seconds.

5. Sometimes, when hubby's been out of town for a long stretch, he gets home late at night. He goes straight to the kids' bedrooms to say hi. Often, I won't be able to find him. After searching, I find him asleep in one of their beds. Cutest. Damn. Thing. Ever.

4. He makes pancakes each and every Saturday morning.

3. When Abby was a newborn, I mowed the grass while hubby was at work. When he learned that I'd done this, he was MAD. I, of course, was then MAD (and a wee bit confused) that he wasn't appreciative--I mean hell--I'd mowed the lawn in hot, gross August wearing Abby in a Bjorn. Then he exploded, "What if you'd slipped? What if...Ugh. I'm sick. I can't even...." And that is why hubby's anger eclipsed any form of gratitude: the thought of something happening to his baby girl undid him. It was the first (of many) times I saw his mother-bear side and I melted into his fierce love for his baby girl.

2. Abby and Henry know that their Dad is a real, fallible person, who makes mistakes yet lives with the integrity to own his blunders and say "I'm sorry" (not that this happens a lot, of course, but when it happens to happen, ahem, he's sets a stellar example for those little people).

1. His children know what it is to be deeply loved by their father.

I am humbled and honored to love this man, who emulates strength, compassion, tenderness, grace and humility. Happy Father's Day to my hubby, who brings laughter, hope and light into all of our lives.