Setting the Bar

Well, its two weeks after Father's Day and I'm just getting to a Father's Day post.

Y'all know I adore TJ.  And y'all know he's totally worth the hype.  I don't know one person that doesn't just love the guy.  Well, maybe a couple, but they're obviously on meth or something...

I  knew he was an amazing match for me, but I wasn't quite prepared for the absolute perfection that he is as a father.  I don't know that I ever even dreamed in my head what it would be like when we brought that little 6 pound bundle of pink home from the hospital, but he has surpassed any expectation or idea that I had or didn't know to have.

With Faith, he was the one that was automatically comfortable in his parent skin.  He just instinctively knew what to do.  And that worked out fantastically because all I could do was crawl out of bed, bawl like a baby and second guess every decision I made.  Even when we were both at a loss, he calmly walked us through every decision.  I remember one time Faith was so sick and TJ was at the fire station and I called him and told him I was taking her to the ER.  He changed out of his uniform and beat me to the hospital from the city.  He just held her and rocked her and loved on her the entire time and she was immediately calm.  And after he made everything better, he kissed us goodbye and went back to the station to work.  He is the one that gets to stay with her during the day when she's sick.  He is the one she calls out to in the night when she has bad dreams.  He's the best swing pusher, kite flyer, trampoline jumper, and pillow fighter.  He also can get her hair into the best side pony I've seen.

When I think about Faith, I think one day she is going to like boys.  Then guys.  Then men.  And I freak out a little.  Then I breathe in a bag and remember that her daddy has taught her well.  And that every guy she dates is going to be set on an invisible scale and that her daddy is going to be the one they're measured up against.  A daddy who loves God and loves her like God does.  A daddy who has many, many guns that he can shoot very precisely from long distances.  

And then there's our little Si Guy.  TJ says that from the minute he was born, it feels different to be a dad to a boy.  I don't see that.  He is just as amazing with Silas, but in different ways.  Just the other day he had worked a shift at the station, then came home exhausted to me leaving for work. Silas wasn't feeling so great and we were about to go out of town so he called the doctor and made and appointment to double check to make sure he was just teething. Turns out- not so much.  He was sick.  TJ got everything we needed to make sure our trip would be okay and that Silas would feel better.  And even though he was still sick, when I got home, our little guy had a smile on his face in his daddy's arms.  (Not to mention, that when I got home, he took Faith outside to play, fixed her broken kite and flew it with her for an hour. He's just awesome like that.)

Oh, Si Bear.  He's learning from one of the greatest of all time.  And I don't expect  Silas to grow up and be a carbon copy of TJ.  I expect him to be Silas, rooted in what was most important in life (with a healthy affection for Ford Mustangs.)  Ya know, the father of the prodigal son had two sons.  The son who stayed home made the right decision every time he was presented with a choice.  He worked hard for his daddy, probably stayed up talking with him and had an amazing relationship with him.  Then there was the son who wanted to take what his dad had worked hard for and leave.  Take life by the horns.  Find his own way. Create his own path.  But at the end of the day, they both knew what their daddy stood for and that he loved them with an everlasting love.  And so I'm confident that whether Silas is just like his daddy or not, he will know he loves him just like Jesus loves him and be rooted in that.

So that's what its like around here on Father's Day.  Basically fatherly perfection bottled in a tall, tan, and camo- clad body.