Happy Father's Day!

It’s Father’s day. The day to celebrate fathers, dads, daddies… you know. Those guys who hang out with us and help up parent those kids we love beyond words. So, the question I think about today is the following:  “What makes a great dad?”

My dad could solve any problem, and I really do mean any problem, as long as the solution was logistical. (My mom was the pro on the emotional problems, no offense dad.) If I had to be in 4 places at one time and couldn’t get out of more than one commitment, my dad was the guy to talk to. Within 5 minutes, he had a schedule, reservations and a flight plan. Excellent!

My kids are too young to ask, but if they could answer, they would probably say that dads are the people who cuddle you in the porch swing and teach you how to whistle. (Yes, he is in the beginning stages of teaching them. He whistles and they try unsuccessfully to copy. It’s quite a scene! J  )  They also build awesome train tracks and Lego towers. Talk about high skilled multi-tasking.

Recently, we got chatting with a family at a play area. There was the dad, the mom and a very cute 3 year old girl who happily assisted my twins in the magic act of the disappearing snack. It was adorable. Apparently, they were expecting a second. He was thrilled, she was terrified. (One was hard enough. How would she manage two?) At one point, when the little girl had run off and the mom chased her, I got to talking to the dad and he mentioned that he wasn’t the little girl’s “real dad”, quickly correcting himself with “biological father”. 

How sad that he had felt the need to explain this. Over the course of approximately 30 minutes, I had watched this man play with, chase, laugh with, pick up and kiss this little girl. I saw the look in her eyes when she gazed at him adoringly. Not her real dad? I don’t think so.  If anyone was a father/daughter pair, it was them.  As we continued talking, I learned that he had known her mom since she was an infant and he proudly announced to me. “I taught her how to walk.” Not her real dad?  Seriously? I disagree.

So, I return to the original question… what makes a great dad?

Want to hear my opinion? Of course you do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading. Right? Here it comes…

I think a great dad is a man who changes diapers, even the really stinky ones at inconvenient times. A great dad is a man that takes his turn on the fatiguing and never ending night wake ups of young children. A great dad knows how to make his kids stop crying and also knows that they need to hear the word NO. A great dad treats his partner with love and respect, modeling for his kid(s) that a real man nurtures those he loves. A great dad knows how to take the kids, all by himself, for the entire morning (without waking up his wife) because she just spent the night in the emergency room and desperately needs the sleep. (Thanks honey. That one is directed at you!)

My husband is a great dad. When he gets home from work, he is greeted with a chorus of “daddy!!!!” by two ecstatic kids. I LOVE that. There are no words to describe the level to which I love that.

So, on this Father’s day, I would like to thank all you fathers out there who merit the praise that I lavish upon my husband and my father.  You are loved and you are appreciated. Every single day.