Yesterday morning as the boys excitedly dressed themselves for church BEFORE breakfast, I had to start fighting back the jealous feelings that would be present all day long. I helped Isaac button up his shirt, and he asked if I would give him a tie to put on. I was super surprised by this because he hates ties. They choke him! I questioned him about the accessory, and he said, “Mom, it’s Father’s Day. I want to look special.” They both rushed up the stairs to where Josh was still sleeping, and proudly showed him the pictures they painted him and the gifts they had chosen. They snuggled him close on either side, and I had to seriously fight back the urge to scream, “Where the heck was all of this on Mother’s Day!”
Well, after a lot of thought, I don’t blame them for their blatant favoritism. Daddy is amazing. He is fun. He is smart (if you ask Isaac, he’ll tell you that his dad is just a big fat brain). He gives the best snuggles. He is never afraid to be goofy with them. He runs faster than mommy. Hits the ball further. Throws a tight spiral EVERY time, and is the super star pitcher on his softball team. He is a little boy’s dream dad. When I realized all of this in my pondering, I thought, well, at least I have Josie.
On second thought…
He walks in the door and she lights up. He is out working all day, and so when he comes in and finds her scaling the stove, or up on a table his reaction is of joy and delight at his monkey daughter. To him she is full of personality---to me she is full of sass. You see there is a fine line between personality and sass. That line being drawn after 10 consecutive hours of all that “personality” oozing all over the place. To me she is sass, but to dad who has to work so much, she is full of life! I think I see Jo quickly joining the daddy fan club, and you know what, I’m so thankful that she is. I’m thankful that the work and time that I put forth in the home and with the kids allows their dad to come home each night, and to hopefully, feel unburdened by the work, and instead frees him up for a whole lot of loving. That is what he gets from us, and that is certainly what he gives.
Happy Father’s day, Love.
