Two of My Favorite Men

I once heard that we choose the parents we were meant to have. Well, if that is true, I need to give myself a huge pat on the back for choosing such terrific parents. I feel like I am a lucky gal! On this Father's Day I have a dad that I love 100% and I have been fortunate to always feel that love returned me to equally. Growing up, Dad always knew when something was wrong with me and I could always count on him to come to me when I was down or crying. He would just hug me and leave it up to me if I wanted to explain more or not. He always seemed to trust that we would learn from our mistakes and rather than get anger with us (well, he did sometimes but he is only human) he would sit and discuss the problem with us. He turned the situation into a learning experience because really, how do we learn if we don't make mistakes?

My dad has always had a rocking chair that is reserved just for him.

I have always admired my dad's gift of putting himself in another person's shoes. It has been my attempt to make this a strength of my own also (I still have some work to do).

Living 700 miles apart, I don't get to see my dad as often as I would like but I always know he feels my love and vise versa.

When we visit Kansas, we stay at my dad's house. His house is my safe place while traveling. I know that at his house, I will always be given a mouth watering meal that fits completely within my diet restrictions. When I first began following a restrictive diet, it was new to all of us. However, my dad and his wife (and my friend) Carol searched the Internet and together found wonderful tasting recipes for us during our visits. Usually, we try to eat at their place before heading out to others. It isn't that others don't try to feed us according to diet also, but my dad is a perfectionist when it comes to following my diet. He will lay all the ingredients out for me to look over before he starts cooking and if anything is wrong, he goes searching for an alternative. I can't tell you how much this kind of support has meant to me!

So, not only have I been lucky to have one exceptional male model in my life, but then I went on to marry another. Not only is Steve my best friend and strongest supporter, but he is an awesome dad. He has supported and embraced new idea after new idea that I have brought into our family. Like my dad, he has strong values and a good heart. Rather than get angry with our kids, he has always tried to help them through the experience. Plus, he is just fun! When the kids were little they used to tell me, "We like you when we are hurt or want to snuggle but we like dad when we want to play." It is true. He has as much fun playing with them as they do him. When Alexander was little he would wait for Steve to get home from work and as soon as he walked in he said, "Go get your rough pants on." That meant get out of your work clothes and into something comfortable we can wrestle in.

Steve always makes our life fun. Whether he is planning a route at a new forest preserve, a day of exploring in the city, playing music or just cracking us up at home, he is always fun. He adds fun and adventure to our life. This has always attracted me to him and is such a beautiful gift that he gives our children.

We recorded an episode of Chuck and then realized we needed 3-D glasses. Steve called around until he could find a pair for each of us.

Happy Father's Day to Dad and Steve. Also, to my two older brothers, Mike and Danny who are also about as awesome as you can get in the dad category. And to my brother-in-laws Earl, Darrin, and David who have been wonderful additions to our family and to the lives of all my nieces and nephews.