Happy Father's Day! I know a lot of great fathers out there (who doesn't?), and I'd like to take this opportunity to share my moments of AHA about two of my favorites.
My dad and I didn't get along all the time when I was growing up. Normal, I know. As a teenage girl, I just couldn't understand him and his ways of thinking. However, looking back now, as a parent myself, I find myself mimicking him in ways I never saw coming. I follow my kids around the house turning off lights, something my dad used to heckle me about daily. If my son or daughter wants to play with a friend, I have to know the Who, What, Where and When, something my dad was always a stickler about. Inadvertently, my dad has taught me about good work ethic, doing household chores quickly... and efficiently, money management, time management and being prompt (something I will never master, but the intention is there!), appreciation of 50s and 60s music, and doing what you love the best you can. I now accept so many things about him that years ago I thought were bothersome and annoying. It makes me happy to see him get pleasure out of building little science experiment kits with my oldest son, and to see the kids run to him for a hug. And I appreciate him now in ways that I cannot even begin to explain.
Even before our first son was born, I knew my husband would be a great dad. He's always been good with kids, easy to talk with, and respectful of children's feelings. He's never treated our kids like "babies," rather he's always treated them like people. He doesn't talk down to them. He holds them each in the highest regard, and he's not shy about sharing that with them or others. He plays with them, as often as he can. Any given night, there's bound to be a wrestle-mania likeness that happens on our bed or the couch or one of the kids' beds. But he has a soft side, too, when playing. I even heard that he played a game of Disney's Pretty Pretty Princess one day with our daughter. The idea of the game is to move your game piece (a glass slipper) around the board and collect all the jewelry. Generally, the girls wear each piece to show it off. I understand that in his version of the game, the jewelry just got collected in a pile on the floor. But his little princess was happy to play the game with him all the same. He reads with them, and he doesn't just boring read, he plays it up. One night a few years ago I read Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks to our son. Two pages into the book and I was told that I wasn't doing it right, because I wasn't making the same voices that Daddy makes when he reads that book. My husband does not let the kids walk on him, however. He treats them as equals, but he lets them know their place in the family hierarchy. He demands respect, yet in a very friendly sort of way. My husband works hard to provide for our family. He holds high standards in the world of parenting, and I sometimes feel that I'm struggling to keep up. I've learned to accept the things about his style of parenting that are different than mine. And the ways that he makes me happy and appreciative are too numerous to list. We have our differences, but as dads go, in my opinion he ranks at the top.
So thanks to my dad and my husband for teaching me all sorts of different things, and for being great parents! You both create plenty of AHA!
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