Sunday, June 19, 2011

Say What (?!?) Sunday - Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

Here is a snippet of what I wrote in my husband's father's day card from me:

Do you realize that in the last year you've become a father to 6 kids in addition to our own L?  There aren't that many fathers who can say anything like that.

When I thought about that it dug at me like a knife.  THAT MANY kids doesn't really seem odd to us, but as I wrote it down it made me realize how lucky I am to be married to a man who has been willing (and usually happy and excited) to go on this journey with me.  How many men wouldn't completely flip out in becoming a father to 6 different kids in the span of 12 months on top of the 1 we already had.  How many men in our situation aren't sitting there thanking their lucky stars for their male-factor infertility so that they don't have to worry about having more and more kids?  How many men upon hearing about their 1 kiddo (or 2, 3, etc.) take off? 

But not my husband.  No, it's not always easy on him.  He works odd hours and the kids we've had have all been 2 or younger with the exception of 1 who was 3.  They aren't quiet for his morning sleep or afternoon naps.  They cost a lot.  They are a lot of work.  (It isn't easy to get 2 21 month old girls dressed in the morning or to continuously answer the same question from a boy who is struggling a bit with attachment).  He not only has stayed but has mostly embraced every moment - doing whatever he can to be a good daddy to whatever kids are in our home at the moment, whether or not they argue over whether he is their "real" dad or not.

So, for my super husband, his son gave him the most supercool superdad card that yours truly just knew they'd both get a kick out of. And they did. And we made a huge sign that said Happy Father's Day that all the kids contributed to last night. And we put that big sign over the brand new black-out curtains I installed late last night before going to bed. Though I completely screwed up the install and made more work for him, he really seemed to appreciate it, which is what I was going for. We couldn't spend much money as we're trying to figure out the whole adoption thing we're facing, but it was something that I hope will bless him and I hope he will remember how much we appreciate him every time he sleeps in a room that's just a little bit darker during the day.
When our son woke up, the first thing he said was "did daddy see his present"? Groggy-eyed and really sleepy he jumped out of bed to surprise his daddy with the work we'd done.
And of course, because it's father's day and because it wouldn't have been the same without it, L fnished the night with these words:
L: Mommy - I know it's father's day, but since it's kids day too can you make me a craft?
So, though it's late I'm going to draw him a picture before I go to bed.
I hope you all enjoyed today as much as we did.

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