Father's Day(s)

Hubby and I went to a friend's birthday party this weekend. There were lots of little kids running around and we enjoyed sitting in the shade, watching their young parents run after them, wiping noses and pulling fingers out of the dog's mouth in the nick of time. We could laugh because we'd been there and done that. It was no longer OUR little boy responding to pleas of "be careful" with "I know what I'm doing!"--right before face-planting on the patio floor. And it wasn't OUR little girl carefully and daintily scraping birthday cake off the sidewalk with her fork--and EATING it. We ate our burgers in peace and didn't have to negotiate "hotdog before cake" rules with anyone. Of course, we have a whole different set of things to worry about at our kids ages. But for the moment I just enjoyed the show. I was struck at how involved the dads were- chasing boys around the yard and holding babies in the pool. It gave me hope for a new generation of hands-on daddies. And made me remember how much Hubby helped when our babies were little. He changed diapers and mixed formula and never complained about it. And as the kids have grown, so has he, going to track meets and filling out the FAFSA (a college financial aid form) and still (mostly) not complaining about it. So while we celebrate him on this Father's Day weekend, I try to make sure it isn't a once-a-year pat on the back. I tell him often that I'm thankful he made the choice to be the father, and the man, that he is. I work with plenty of children whose parent has made a very different choice. And the results are painful to watch.
Parenting is not easy. There are as many ways to mess it up as there are children in the world. But its not as hard as it might be if I had to go it alone.
So Happy Father's Day, Coach! I'm glad you're on our team...on Father's Day and all the Days in between.