Happy Father’s Day! Have you ever heard that semi famous quote about being a dad? It reads: Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone truly special to be a Dad. I firmly believe this to be true with the men in my life.

I am so lucky to have had an awesome dad growing up. He coached my softball teams. He was in the front row of all of my dance recitals with the big, boxy video camera on his shoulder. He stood in line at 5am for hours because a limited number of Furbies were being released and I wanted one. He never missed a father / daughter dance. He made sure I knew every Elton John, Billy Joel and, The Beatles song before I got my own car and chose my own music. These artists remain some of my favorites today. As I got older, I was privileged enough to have my dad walk me down the aisle as I married my best friend. He helped me buy my first car. He was there ripping out flooring as soon as we closed on our first house. I also got to witness something truly special, which was watching my dad become a grandfather. He was waiting close by when all of my children were born. He visited me in the hospital for long periods of time when I would have otherwise been alone. He dropped everything and came to my bedside when I called him crying to tell him that Jackson was undergoing emergency surgery. He met me in the hospital in the middle of the night on Christmas when Joseph was having trouble breathing from croup and he knew Todd was home with the other kids. He went out and bought jewelry for Taylor when she called him and said she wanted him to please buy her something special for graduation. My mom may have had a helping hand with that last one… He’s always been there for me and now he’s there for my kids, and for that, I’m incredibly thankful. His love for my children is amazing to see. He has so much fun being their Brampy, and they adore him just as much. I love you, Dad!

When Todd and I started dating, I soon realized that the was the man I wanted to love forever; he was the man I wanted to have children with. We discussed kids many times before getting engaged, and it is something we both saw in our immediate future. He was worried that he wouldn’t be a good father. He was worried that he’d be too old to be a fun dad. For reference, he’s seven years older than me. I was so glad to prove him wrong on this one. He’s not only a great dad, he’s an incredible dad. He works long hours to provide for us. He ensures that his time home with us all together is well spent. A lot of weekends, he will let me sleep in a bit (since I’m an insomniac and am usually up all night) while he gets up with the kids. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to walk downstairs and see him playing blocks with the kids. He’s never shied away from changing a diaper or helping out with laundry. He knows that we are a team, and treats all of us accordingly. The kids adore him and really look up to him. Taylor and her dad have started a special tradition of sorts with each other. They love to watch Tom and Jerry together on Saturday mornings. He teaches the kids things, and explains things to them such as how things work, and fields a million questions of “why?” At the same time, he teaches them, by example of how to treat someone you love since he treats me so well. Whenever Taylor sees us hugging, kissing, or even holding hands she exclaims: “Awww! Mommy and Daddy are going to get married again!”

Taylor made him a special project (at school) for Father’s Day, and I think it truly sums up her relationship with Todd. It really doesn’t get much better than that. We are so lucky that he is our guy.