I am one lucky woman. I have, not one, but two really great Dad's in my life. My Dad is and has always been such a great man. He's always encouraged independent thinking, mindfulness, and reaching farther than you think possible. My Mom and Dad make a good team. It may have been difficult for me to see it at times, but my childhood was very rich thanks to that team. My Mom, once in a while, would take me and sometimes my sisters out of school for a day and we'd all go to the beach for a wonderful break. She taught me that "Like attracts like"; positive thinking and positive actions will lead to positive surroundings and a positive life. My Dad sang and acted in a light opera theatre (comedy opera theatre) here in town and I had the opportunity to be stage hand there for a few years and was stage manager at another play for a time. I got to listen in every now and then on my Dad's writer's group and he even shared one of my stories, written for my creative writing class in high school, with his group. My Dad can take any old yard and turn it into a magical oasis of lush trees and plants, peas and berries, pears and redwoods. He planted several willow trees the year I was born. I was raised in that house, still my favorite house, until I was 19 when they decided to move up to Humboldt. I took clippings of two of those trees and they are growing in big half-barrel pots on our back deck until they can be planted in Earth wherever we buy our house. As long as I am able to I will plant and clone those trees wherever I live. It is one fine example of the thoughtfulness that was put into my childhood.
My husband is more amazing and wonderful than I would have ever thought possible in a husband. I'm sure one reason why i could find such a wonderful husband was because I had such a great Dad. Alex, my husband, is so gentle he would never cause pain or suffering to even the smallest of creatures (except scary spiders that are too big to live indoors... and earwigs... and silverfish...), he is so imaginative he has immensely expanded my view of what a creative, out-of-the box life we can look forward to living...and my boundaries were pretty wide to begin with. He is so fun that at the turn of his head and one phrase will catch me so off-guard that I'll need to sit down or risk injuring myself from laughter. Alex is kind and honest in a way that people don't know how to take him, and his optimism has gotten him into trouble when people think he's being sarcastic! He is outside the lines and colors that people wouldn't think of pairing. He helps me stay...good. He makes me want to be better. He makes me hope that people are paying attention because here is a man that people should be quoting millennia after his life. He is, at times, tongue-tied with thoughtfulness and contemplation. He is musical, highly intelligent, trusting, beautiful- Oh my is he beautiful! Sometimes, when I'm frustrated or moody, if I just let my gaze fall on him for a few moments my mind just releases it's tension. Like how ancient cultures would gaze at emerald to relieve migraines- it's easy on the eyes, like my hubby. He even thinks I'm beautiful and rarely goes a day without telling me so...even on THOSE days, where I am glad we don't have mirrors all over our house to remind me I really really messed up my hair (breastfeeding hormones and scissors do NOT mix!) and could use a layer or 12 of makeup. :)
The most important thing, I think, that ANYONE could ask for in a husband is to be a caring, loving, gentle, motivated Dad. My husband is, without question, all of those things and much, much more. I'm so so lucky that he wanted kids (at some point in the future) and was open enough to discuss parenting tactics, while we were dating. There were so many things that, without feeling the pressure of "we need to do this now or else", we could talk through and really thoroughly examine without feeling like we had to do it the way this one person tells us.
We were lucky because we had SO much time (ehem- 6 years of dating...yup!) to research all the different aspects of parenting- from circumcision to breastfeeding, vaccination schedule to birthing plans, healthy living to positive forms of discipline. I think that a sign of a great parent is when they try to raise their kids, regardless of their situation, to be greater than themselves. But I especially LOVE that my husband will want and look forward to our children questioning our parenting decisions so that they can be even better (presumptuous much?) parents than we are and will be. Are you following me? If parents never wanted this, we would never have even gotten to the "enlightened" period of parents letting their kids work in sweat shops instead of selling them to the gypsies...yeah, that was way weak, but you see what I'm saying? I love that my husband, as thoughtful of a father as he is and will always be, will encourage our children to be more thoughtful, to take a different route if they need to and to be greater than we are. That's a big deal.
Without a doubt, I am so grateful for these two excellent Father's in my life.
Dad, I love you very much! You make me proud. :) Happy Father's Day!
Alex, thank you SO much for being mine. I love you! Happy Father's Day #2. :*
We will be taking it easy at the El Dorado County Fair. We are trying to move to the area, so it'll be good to see a bit of what it's like.
Happy Father's Day to all the other Dad's that I know and don't know. I hope you all enjoy a great weekend with your families. Treasure it all, every moment.