Father's Day 2011

River

Birds singing

completely beautifully

feeling like a king

touching waters wetness

cool, warm waters

the feel of wellness

calm fathers

- Bethany Williams

(Thanks to Cathy)

Father's Day 2010

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River, you make being your father easy. I know that there will be ups and downs in our future but I am not afraid. You have taught me more that I have taught you so far. I never gave much thought to the fact that everyone is someones baby and I believe the world would be a much better place if parents would and could spend time together like you and me. Our time together is a blessing. I love you very, very much.
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Father's Day 2009

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Father's Day 2008

Daddy's Day 2009

"To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter."
- Euripides

"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. "
- Bill Cosby

"A father carries pictures where his money used to be."
- Unknown

I've been called many names in the past thirty-something years. .

. . but "Daddy" is by far my favorite.

Happy Fathers Day to all the other daddys out there.

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My Fathers Day Post

So i'm looking at my Husband last night. He is on the floor with River. He had went upstairs to retrieve her rug from her nursery so that she could have a nice soft place to play. He would show her toys. Fly her around. Bounce her on his knee and kiss her on the cheek.

Tell her he loves her.

I can't even express to you how proud I am of my Husband.

He is a wonderful Father. If anything, I would venture to say that Fatherhood has made him a better person. A Dad has to be patient, kind, loving, and strong. He had these qualities before but they have been sharpened with the arrival of River.

Our days are long and hard. We get up in the morning and get ready for work. We say goodbye and drive to our separate destinations. We work a full day. We get back into our cars and make the long drive home. We get home to feed her, bathe her and dress her for bed. We take her up to her room and kiss her goodnight.

Rob doesn't sigh with the final quiet and alone time of a baby in bed. He bemoans the fact that he only had a few hours with her today. He prays that we don't have too much to do on the weekends so that he can spend quality time with her.

Rob, River and I love you very much and we are so glad that you are "Da-Da".

A Little Immortality

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In River I've caught glimpses of my own father, Jo's father and other family members both still with us and some long departed. Mannerisms, gestures, etc. It's a kind of magic when you catch these little moments. It's also a reminder that as a parent you are a custodian of family history. Not just knowledge of the family tree but the little stories and the life lessons that accompany them. I'll do my best to pass on all that I can remember and I'm sure that Jo will as well. Perhaps in the future when River is faced with a dilemma, she will remember past family experiences as they were told to her and they will keep her safe and happy and well. A little light to shine along her path.
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On Father's Day I find myself remembering those stories and lessons. I remember mannerisms and gestures. I'm seeing things from their perspective now and painfully aware that I've often been too critical with those who have loved and protected me. I hope I can do half as well as my father, my grandfather and uncle. So far, River has been easy on me. But then again, she is better than me. She is the best of me. She is her own little person and, in a way, a little bit of everyone who helped raise me.
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My Girl(s)

I'm not sure if this Father's Day counts for me. I don't know what the rules are. It doesn't matter - I'm claiming it anyway. Last Friday my wife and I had our most recent Dr.'s appointment and we discovered that our child is a girl. Now it's true, you really only care about health but there is more of an identity now and there can be a name (which there is) attached to this little sprite of a person who delights in doing somersaults in her mother's belly. My, how she is active!

I guess I am a romantic. When I first met JoAnna in a group of mutual friends at Northern Kentucky University years ago - I just knew. I met with another friend that very evening at the University of Kentucky and told her that I believed that I had just met "The One". . and I was right. It's a rare and wonderful thing to know the moment that you're in love. It wasn't a lightening bolt or an arrow from a fat little cherub or any of those Hollywood cliches. It was more like "Oh, there you are! What took you so long! Life awaits. " Never a more perfect moment could ever happen again. . or so I thought.

Flash forward nearly 13 years later to last Friday. . now that was a lightening bolt! Time repeats itself. Once again I find myself completely in love with a girl I just met. What can I say? I guess I'm just easy that way.

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Happy Father's Day.

Friday (6/15/07) - 18 weeks, 6 days

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

I've got so much honey the bees envy me.
I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Ooooh.

I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.
I've got all the riches baby one man can claim.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
with my girl.
I've even got the month of May
with my girl

- My Girl, The Temptations

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