Father's Day

On the eve of this Father's Day, I really need to take a moment or two to reflect on the fathers in my own life.......

Daddy.  Thank you.  Thank you for loving me when I was not so lovable.....when I snorted through my nose all the time, and keened "crocodile rock" in the car.  Thank you for loving me enough to call my husband "that boy" for a full five years after we married.  Thank you for all the times you told me, "Keep your eye on the ball, Lori", and "shine that flashlight right here"  I must have been the proudest girl ever....Thank you for taking me to the mall and buying me that sixteen dollar smock top that you said you would never buy "at that ridiculous price"...I still remember the print and the feel of the fabric.
Thank you for all the sugar cookies, cans of tuna and cheerios you bought for me and the kiddos over the years. .Thank you for showing me the beach, the mountains and the movies, places I would never have gone without you.  Thank you for trusting me enough to let me ride my bike all over South Arlington.  Thank you for never, ever forgetting how much Sundays meant to 4 little girls who missed their Daddy all week.  Thank you for wiggling my toe when you visited me in the hospital after Johnboy was born. Thank you for all of the Shirley Temple's you got us at Duffs in Winchester and every frozen custard I ever had.  Thank you for being my Daddy, the one mom blamed on me having a pound of cheese in bed with me when it was only gum, and the Daddy who sang "He's in the jailhouse now", and "Chewing Chawing Gum".  Thank you for the picnics and parties you took us to.
Daddy, my life would have been so empty and colorless without you, and I am everything I am because of you.  I am strong and loyal and loving and compassionate and sensible and hard-working and quick to laugh because of you.  When I felt ugly and clumsy, you were always the man in my life who loved me just the way I was, and that, Daddy, made all the difference.  Thank you.

To my husband....I am not sure I could be the mother I am if you were not the father you are.  When I want to run and hide and pretend, just for a few precious moments that I don't need to worry about the kids, you are the one who worries for me.  When I am the lamb, you are the lion, and when I need to shout, you keep your calm.  When the world is tumbling down around us and I don't know how we are going to feed these people, you always make a miracle happen.
You are as capable at changing diapers as I am, and as likely to buy feminine hygiene products for our girls.  Nothing shakes you, rattles you, or scares you and you make a mean roasted chicken, (thanks, by the way...dinner was great). You cook, you clean, and you cut hair.  When I need to feel like big Mama, you let me and enjoy it, and when I need to cower and shake, you hold me tight till the shivering is over.
You have been "team mom", chauffeur, and life coach, and on occasion, mother hen...when I need to work to feel good about myself, you keep our home running, and the dentist on time, and when I need to nest and be a home maker, you  keep the fires burning and the wolf away from the door.  You let me be whatever and whoever I need to be without ever losing who you are.
I love you, my beloved Michael.  You are everything to me and I am everything I am because of you, too. You are my best friend, and my yardstick for everything good in life...

So, to these two men, my past and my future, and everything right now..............Happy Father's Day.
I love you.