No card or movie or Lifetime special can truly capture what our fathers mean to us. Rather than focus on my own experiences, I wanted to write about what the other mothers found important too. What follows is a collection of lessons learned, musings, and memories about our fathers and our spouses. It is our love letter to our fathers. Happy Father’s Day!
Ode to Our Fathers
For telling me I’m pretty when I am feeling my worst
For saying “I love you” first
For assuring me that I would be a great mom
For eating through my food experiments, even when they bombed
For doing the chores I abhor,
Washing dishes, doing laundry and folding my clothes
For mending my buttons and buying me my first mobile phone
For reminding me that I don’t have to it all on my own
For teaching our kids that their feelings aren’t wrong,
And that showing emotions is its own kind of strong
For setting an example of how to unconditionally love your wife and family,
So I knew what to look for when finding a special man for me
For wiping my tears
For pushing me to conquer my fears
For always recognizing my achievements, large and small
For always making yourself available to listen, every time I call
For always saying I Love You at the end of every day,
Through a call or text, even when you are far way
For encouraging me to pursue my goals,
And showing me how to live a life of perseverance and not get stuck in the holes
For always being there to hold my hand tight
For giving me airplane rides and letting me take flight
For dressing up with me and holding your pinky out while we sip afternoon tea
For magically making me heal with one kiss upon my hurt knee
For playing catch with me for hours in the back yard
For making sure I’m the winner on our game day scorecard
For showing me that hard work and dedication are always rewarded,
And for also being there to support me when my best efforts were thwarted
For attending every performance and coaching many a soccer match,
And on Sunday mornings whipping up a delicious chocolate chip pancake batch
For patiently teaching me to throw a ball far,
And how to downshift in my first car
For wiping my tears while I struggled with math,
And for always guiding me down the right path
For learning from all our fathers near and far,
So that you could be the best dad to ours
Today, we celebrate you and all the wonderful things you do.
With love,
Thank you.
