Your Dad

About 10 years ago, I sat on a big bed with my college boyfriend (aka Daddy) and his grandmother, Gram - as we did whenever we were in town and as Mike had done long before I came around. We were chatting about something, probably what we had eaten at a restaurant, and she was probably licking her lips like she sometimes did. Mike was rubbing her shoulders, his hands lathered in cream. (If you know your dad, you understand that his hands lathered in cream is a statement of love all in itself!) She was looking so tiny, naked with her little wrinkled hands pulling the sheet up to her chin. But her eyes sparkled and her smile was so big it filled the room. I looked at your dad with his huge smile, animated story and the love leaking out of his pores. It was the look in his eyes that did it for me.

It was then that I knew that he would be the perfect dad for you.

I wasn't wrong. I see that look again and again as he listens to your stories or watches you perform a new trick. You will grow up basking in his unconditional love and acceptance.

He is the kind of dad that builds snowmen on the deck long after you have gone to bed so that when you wake up you will be surprised - even though he will be at work and miss the fun. He is the kind of dad that feels pain when you fall and would avoid your tears at all cost. He is the kind of dad that sits patiently and unflinching while you crawl all over his head and back, just minutes after announcing the worst headache EVER.

He is the best kind of dad!