In my 30 some years of life, I have been blessed with some amazing fathers. Chief among them are my own father, who I have the immense pleasure of still having to this day. His booming laughter and orneriness really know no bounds. I have the added blessing of having a wonderful bonus dad who I earned when I married his son. His kindness and sweet heart are two of my favorite things in this world. And then there’s the guy who I get the privilege of watching as a father every day; my husband.
I know everyone always says this, especially around Father’s Day, but my husband really is the best dad. I knew a long time ago that he would be a great dad; it’s part of the reason I wanted to marry him. Some things in life you just know, and this was one of those things.
Even though he didn’t have a ton of experience with kids, Ryan jumped right in and filled his role as Clark’s father so seamlessly. He is loving, patient, fun, silly, calm, funny, and warm. He never shies away from Dad duties. He doesn’t babysit or watch our child; he parents him. Pretty darn well, I might add. While I know that is the baseline from where dads are typically measured, I think it’s a sad but true reflection of how little society expects from fathers.
There has not been a single day in Clark’s 29+ months on this earth where I have had to ask Ryan for help. I know a lot of moms who aren’t so lucky, and I believe that he deserves to be celebrated. From the fact that he has never once complained about missing work to care for our boy, to the joy and squeals that he elicits from our son every day for just walking through the doorway, to what I call dadgic (the magical ability that fathers have to speak the same command a child’s mother has said no less than 18 times, and said child immediately and without question obeys request).
Ryan is the dad who throws Clark up in the air so high it makes my heart sink to my knees, and leaves our toddler breathless from laughter. But he’s also the dad who rocks a scared little boy back to sleep after a bad dream at a ridiculous hour on a work night. And he’s also the dad who makes an unruly toddler serve his time in the corner and apologize to his momma for yelling at her.
He has instilled a love of music, adventure, guitars, Jesus, humor, and Cardinals baseball in our boy. Ryan has loved Clark since the day he found out he was going to be a father, and has never faltered in his quest for Clark to know how loved he is. There's nothing more a mother could wish for in a father for her children.
Is there anything in the world sexier than a good dad? Maybe a good dad with a killer beard and backwards baseball cap, but that’s a different kind of post ;). Happy Father’s Day to you, my love. Thank you for picking me to raise a family with, and thank you for that sweet little boy who is lucky to call you Daddy. We love you so much!
