Happy Father's Day

I'm so lucky to have many wonderful fathers in my life.

Me & Dad on my wedding day

From what I hear, I was pretty brutal to my dad as a baby, crying and screaming anytime I wasn't attached to my mom. Having my own baby now, I know how horrible that must have felt. Luckily, we bonded long before my memories start and spent most of my childhood sharing the same weird sense of humor and watching The Greatest American Hero and Bosom Buddies together. I have tons of great memories, but two jump out right now. I don't remember how old I was, but my dad came home from work for lunch. Instead of eating out like he had planned, he used his lunch money to buy me a Strawberry Shortcake necklace and came home to make himself a sandwich. I still have the necklace. When I was a bit older I got hurt at school; nothing serious (although I'm sure I was hysterical when it happened), but they called my dad & he came to the school. By the time he got there I was fine, but he insisted that I go home. While we walked home I told him I really was fine & didn't need to go home. He told me he just thought I could use a day off. I don't remember what we did that day, but I know I felt really special having a day off with Dad. My dad is my hero. He always has been & always will be.

John & Cooper

Part of the reason I fell in love with John is because I knew he'd make a great Dad. From the minute we found out I was pregnant he was ecstatic and for the entire first trimester he wouldn't let me lift anything or do any laundry or dishes or housework. In the delivery room he did everything he could to try to make me comfortable, and he held my leg the whole time I pushed, even though it made his arms really sore! :) When Cooper needed to go to the NICU, John was with him every second he could. He knew all the nurses, learned what all the machines did, and knew everything that was going on with Cooper. I could barely remember what hours I could visit Cooper, but John knew what his diagnosis was, what the prognosis was, and was able to ask intelligent questions to get more information. Now John goes to work everyday even though it breaks his heart to leave Cooper and makes lot of sacrifices because he wants me to be able to stay at home with Cooper.

Justin and Zak, with my Dad & Caycee behind them

My brother Justin & I didn't always get along (in fact, we rarely got along when we were growing up!), but he's a great dad. I love watching him playing with Zak & Caycee. He's missing Father's Day, and a lot of other days, with his kids now because he's serving in Iraq. I know he misses them terribly, and they miss him, but he's making that sacrifice for them and Cooper (and all of us) because he wants to make the world better for them.

John, his Dad, & me at our college graduation

John's dad passed away a month before our wedding day and we miss him every day. When John and I first started dating, and especially when John told him we were engaged 4 months later, I don't think his dad was so thrilled with me. It wasn't me so much as his son being so serious with someone when he had barely started college. I did finally win him over (John claims it was when his parents noticed his grades going up instead of down when I joined him at college; I think it had more to do with me polishing off a 16 oz prime rib when his parents took us out to dinner) and from then on he treated me like I was his daughter. I have great memories of us talking about law school, playing pinochle, and eating pistachios, but I'm mostly thankful that he raised John to be the person he is today.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.