Fathers who have earned the title "Daddy"

I know this is a day late, but we were so busy yesterday, I didn't even get a chance to *think* about doing this!  Not only was it Father's Day, we also had our niece (who also happens to now be our goddaughter) get baptized in Madison.  Needless to say, we logged some miles on the van yesterday!

So I got to tell everyone that needed to hear it "Happy Father's Day" yesterday, but now I get to tell everyone else why they deserved to hear it.  My own dad has worked very hard his whole life, at very physically demanding jobs that left him bone-weary at the end of every day.  He was still there to cart my friends and me around to movies and the mall on weekends in our giant van (remember, the one I swore I would never drive and now own in a lovely shade of green).  What a lucky guy, getting to drive 50+ hours a week for work, then spending his weekend chauffeuring a group of teenage girls around, at all hours of the day and night.  My dad always did for us and thought of himself last.  He also gave me the huge gift of being a great husband to my mom, and letting me see that it is not unreasonable to expect a husband that respects you and puts your feelings above all else.  Because of the great example set by my parents (and my alluring good looks), I have Noah.

Noah is the embodiment of the definition of a great husband.  Never is my husband disrespectful to me.  It's not just because he has restraint either; he is truly just that thoughtful.  He builds me up, to others and to myself.  He is constantly suggesting we do things he thinks I would like to do.  And he absolutely shines as Lucy's father.

If love could provide a cure for SMA, Lucy would have had one a million times over already.  Noah wakes up lots of mornings to tend to Lucy's immediate waking up needs, so I get a chance to catch a few more winks.  He picks her up and dances her around, and she just radiates joy.  Lucy laughs a thousand times a day because of Daddy.  Noah takes care of her morning breathing treatment, and on weekends he often does the night time one too, so I can catch up on housework or projects on the sewing machine.  He does laundry.  He does dishes - sometimes several times a day.  He pitches in on dinner, often.  On his days at work, he goes in after spending as much time with Lucy as possible, and comes home to dance her around some more before bedtime, helps me attach all her machines, and kisses her goodnight.  He throws in a load of towels and washes the dishes that have accumulated by the sink.  If he's not already falling asleep and Lucy's pump isn't alarming like a piece of crap, he can sit down for an hour to himself with his Xbox before bed.  Maybe.

His weekends are spent running errands with his family, which is no easy chore.  Lucy's machines and Lucy herself must be loaded and unloaded from the van over and over.  We do shopping, go to the park, go swimming, go on walks, go out for dinner.  Noah helps me with house projects and does landscaping.  Noah has a hand in every aspect of our lives, and both hands in most.  There is no way I could do it - no way Lucy would be the happy little girl she is - without him.

I love him dearly, and Lucy just glows around him.  At the baptism yesterday, Lucy was getting impatient toward the end of service.  She has to lay in her stroller the whole time (without the iPad!  gasp!) and while she will tolerate a non-rolling stroller for a while without a screen for entertainment, she was getting fed up and humming loudly to let us know that time was up.  During the last song, I suctioned her so Noah could pick her up.  I think everyone within a 5 row radius could see her beaming the second Daddy picked her up.  As he danced with her, the smile only grew.  When he is home all day on the weekend, all Lucy wants is to be carried around by him.  It warms my heart that it is Noah's joy to do this just as much as it is Lucy's to be carried. 

I could not dream up a better husband or father, and I know Lucy loves her Daddy with all of her heart.  I thank God every day for my family, as He is my father too, and has shown His love for me in many ways throughout my life.