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I didn’t spend Father’s Day fishing off a pier or drinking long necks on a boat. I didn’t spend it playing 18 holes or getting sloshed at the 19th.  I didn’t spend Father’s Day lounging in a hammock while someone else chased my rugrats around all day.  No, I spent my Father’s Day with my kids rather than without them, and I loved every minute of it.

Granted, Daddy-daycare took place partially due to necessity as Jen was busy taking care of other babies at the hospital all weekend.  But had our parenting dream team been complete, I’m sure that Baby-Daddy-Day would have looked about the same.  Why?  Because I love being a Dad; and on a day devoted to that title, there’s nothing I’d rather do than spend time with the two people in this world that can make me smile just by breathing.

A little over three years ago, I nervously started a new job as the father of a little baby girl.  This new position required long hours, no days off, and the ability to complete everyday tasks with a crying, drooling, pooping, mini-human with no head control attached to one hip.  No education was required, which was good because I had no idea what I was doing, and it was an on-the-job-training situation.  Three years later, I continue to learn something new everyday and I can report that I’ve never enjoyed a job so much.

As a soon-to-be father of three, and current father of two, my goals and priorities in life have changed immensely since the day my daughter was born.  I used to care about how fast my car could go; now I care about how many car seats I can fit inside.  I used to spend Friday nights at the bar with my wife; now we spend them on the couch watching DVR’d episodes of shows we can’t seem to stay awake long enough to watch live.  You might think I would long for those days when I was only responsible for myself.  But today, I only long for the once-in-a-lifetime events in my children’s lives that have already passed.

Izzy’s first words, Jake’s first steps; these are the moments that live as snapshots in my memory and as I get older, I only wish that they never fade away.  As I look ahead to the birth of our next child, I am excited for so many reasons.  The chance to hold a tiny baby in my arms and feel its little fingers wrap around mine.  The opportunity to relive those “firsts” that have already passed with Iz and The Jakester.  Mostly though, I am excited to be a father once again.

I was fortunate to grow up with a great Dad and some awesome Grandfathers as well so in my mind, I know I have a lot to live up to.  But when I have those moments where I feel completely inept at raising children, I know that simply loving them the way that I do means that I’m probably on the right track.  So to all the fathers out there, I hope you had a fantastic Fathers Day.  No matter how hard the job may seem some days, I’m sure you’ll agree that you’d sign up for it again anytime.

Note: The Wordslinger and his entire family are heading out of town for some fun in the sun next week so I’ll be re-posting an all time favorite next week instead of something new.  Which post will it be?  I’ll leave that up to you…

Thumb through the archives and tell me which post was one of your favorites.  Whichever post gets the most votes will wind up here next week.  So go read…and keep piling up the page views!

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