Big Daddy

My husband is a big man.
Oh, he's not super tall or built like a psycho weight-lifter, but he does tower over me when I stand next to him.  And his arms go all the way around my waist with room to spare.
And he opens jars and lifts vacuum cleaners and cast iron skillets effortlessly with one hand.
And can reach things in the top kitchen cabinets without even climbing on the counter first.
But that's not all...his personality fills up a room.
And his voice fills up a gym.
But when it comes to our kids, he's just a gentle giant.
As babies, they would sleep on his broad chest as he lay on the couch watching football on tv.
When they were toddlers, and I was teaching them to sleep in their own bed, HE was the one tearing up in the next room because he couldn't stand to hear them crying.
And when they were preschoolers, he was often the one who would tuck them in at night...fixing the blanket just so and getting the much needed, but never actually used "glass of water."
So when they got older and busier and didn't seem to need "tucking in" anymore, he came up with a plan to keep connected.  Every night, he would lay with one of them for a few minutes...giving them a chance to tell him about their day or ask him questions or just feel his heavy arm thrown over them and know they were safe.  This became especially important during basketball season, when those few minutes might be the only few minutes they got of him that whole day.  Sometimes they would even fight over whose turn it was.  I had to mark it on the calendar...alternating days filled with P's and H's.
More often than not, I would peek in to find one small bundle tucked snugly under the covers with one large man sprawled on top of the covers...snoring away like the Papa Bear he was.  Then I would shake him awake and tuck HIM into his own bed!
Of course, nothing lasts forever, and now we usually go to bed BEFORE the kids!
But he still tells them goodnight.
And checks all the doors in the house.
And leaves the porch light on so Hillary won't have to fumble in the dark for her key.
And has trouble falling asleep until she's safely home in bed.
And he still shows them in a hundred ways a day that he loves them.
Because of all the big things about him, his heart is the biggest.