A Dad and his boys

Sometimes … many times… a blog about a family can be mostly a blog about a mom and her kids. Dad sometimes gets too busy working and gardening and driving us to Florida and back to be blogging!

Even in photos, the children dominate. But as I flipped through the last few months of photos…he’s there…

Dad: on the edge of the photos. Holding a hand, lifting them, watching by the pool’s edge.

I try to tell him how much our boys think of him during the day. When our baby comes toddling into our room at 6:30 every morning, his first word is, “Daddy?” Then his big brother joins him, and I watch them stick their feet in their father’s big slippers and shuffle around the room.

They know once lunchtime passes they can start asking, “When will Daddy be home?”

On Sundays they want to wear their ties and follow him into church.

They can’t wait to see him. They want to be just like him.

These boys follow their father out of doors, shoveling snow, breaking up ground, sowing seeds. They mimic his karate kicks and punches… even the little one.

Our oldest wonders aloud if he and his brother will be “big like Daddy.” Yes, you will. Too soon!

The shadow their Dad throws is long, and right now the boys are happy to play in it, trusting, protected.

The photos show Dad on the sidelines most of the time. But I hope our boys remember: weekend breakfasts and collecting praying mantis babies, and evening tubbie-time, reading books, and rocking them to sleep. He’s there.

They probably will never know (but I will): you bring your kids to music class on a Saturday morning, you carry the flowery diaper bag without flinching, you babywear through the mall, city or farm, you change car seats in and out of cars a thousand times a week.

Thank you for being their dad. A good Dad. Don’t worry, I won’t let them forget it!

Happy Father’s Day!