Since we are talking about Fatherly love, {see post just below, there, on the Holy Trinity}…..let’s talk about the Dads.

There are two Dad-people in my life: my own Dad and the Dad to my kids, my Tom.

They are both remarkable men.  And today, is their day.  Sure it might be an artificially contrived holiday, but what’s not to love about a day to stop and say, “Hey, we so appreciate you!” And, because neither of them are stupid; I suspect they both know how to sit back and enjoy the attention.  And well they should.

My dad is that dad, the one that little girls use to measure others.  Fair or not, it’s how it plays.

As dad’s are supposed to be, he was larger than life to me as a little girl.
And I suppose in many ways, he still is, because he’s still the dad…it’s a lifetime, ya know?
He’s part of many of my favorite things:
Riding horses, yakking about everything and nothing.
Sipping hot strong coffee, yakking about everything and nothing.
Reading the paper in the morning, commenting on the news and everything and nothing.
Comparing wines, and yakking about everything and nothing….
You get the idea….
I love him for his loyalty and his steadfast grit, no matter the tide,or his opinion on my choices and my opinions.

He’s my dad, forever and always and I love him.

And then, there is my  Tom.  The father of my kids, and my partner in raising them.  Oh, I don’t know how I’d do it without him.  I’m not sure I could, as he makes up for what I’m missing.  He is the yin to my yang, he is steady rock solid where I am an emotional rollercoaster.

He’s such a great dad; such a great partner in raising this tribe.
He pulls up the slack when I am a slacker.
He pulls me up out of the indigo when I fall into the blues.
He can make me and/or the kids pound the table in laughter, so funny.

He loves his kids to distraction.
He is easily distracted by fun new adventures and toys, to their delight and my sometime consternation.
He is a born teacher, to my delight and to their sometime consternation.
His love and gift for music has carried into his children, all of them, in one way or another…enriching all of our lives.
He works far too hard and carries too many burdens; and without complaint, though he sometimes does daydream about moving to islands….
He is an adventurer, but stays close to home and it’s needs regardless, tamping down that wanderlust and craving for new thrills.

He is strong inside and out, steady and sure, kinder than me and a softie on the inside.His girls totally pegged that, right away.
His boys don’t always believe it.
But he is.
He’s the dad.
He will go to the ends of the earth for his children, and has.
He’s the dad, and we all love him so, and are so grateful for him.
I love this man, the dad of this clan.