Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Father of My Children

About, uh, let's see, it was THIRTEEN years ago, I started dating this really cute, funny guy. We had a mutual family friend (who's wife, JAN, reads this blog regularly) who told me before I left for college that I should look him up while at school, because he came from a great family. So, after some dating missteps on both of our parts, and after a few flirtatious rounds of mini-golf, we made things official and started dating.

(This is a picture of our first official date, the spring formal in May 1996. We were both 18!)

Now, somewhere in the five years we dated (for real) I had to decide if this guy was marriage material. I did and he was. I remember being aware that he was a "kid person" (he was really sweet with a baby his mom took care of), and I knew that by deciding to stick with him for the long haul through his commitment issues (did I mention five years of dating?), I was selecting him as the father of my children, which is a beautiful, romantic, hypothetical sentiment to a 19/20 year old.But when you are 20 ish, young and carefree, you have no way of knowing exactly what kind of father this charming young man will be. Yes, he likes children--the theoretical, see-them-when-I'm-home-for-the-summer-hand-them-back-after-five-minutes kind of children.

I had no way of knowing that he would be the type of father who wakes up early almost every morning, often surrendering his precious work-out time, to spend time with our early birds and giving me a few extra minutes of sleep. I had no way of knowing he would be the type of father who makes this mother feel beautiful even after her body has changed drastically--due to said motherhood. I had no way of knowing that he would be the type of father who stops his own conversation and notices in a crowded family gathering that I need help with one/both of the kids and might even like to have a conversation of my own. I had no way of knowing he would be the type of father who changes diapers, wipes poopy bottoms, makes googly eyes, talks in silly voices, cleans up vomit, sings lullabies, wrestles for hours, surrenders his image to buy a minivan, tells his kids daily how important and loved they are, prays for his children, never makes me feel guilty about having "me" time, works very hard to provide for us & makes sure we know that by being my husband and their father, he is living his dream.

He is not the only one.

Love you, Babe! Happy Father's Day.

9 comments:

The Brandt Clan said...

How sweet is that! You are so precious to your family! Hope Trent has a wonderful Father's Day!

johnsonandjohnson said...

that almost had me teary.....what a sweet sentiment!

butters said...

Thanks for the sweet post, as I think many of us can relate to how blessed we are by the men we married and what a dream it is now to see them as such wonderful fathers. Trent is no doubt all that you mentioned and you too are a wonderful mama. I also enjoyed the "old" pictures, you guys haven't changed too much, your family has just expanded to make it that much more beautiful. Hope you enjoyed your day together.

Steph said...

Oh my word! Tears! I feel like giving Trent a big hug! Reading your post definitely makes me feel even more overwhelmed at how BLESSED we are with our men.

Aaaaand, I love the old pics! Cutie patooties!

Kristi said...

Dang it. I was already crying (see my most recent post) and now I am sobbing. I love Trent. I love you. So happy for your sweet family. :)

Jan Lefebvre said...

I know the one who made this all happen (after the Lord of course) is thrilled to know you gave him proper credit !! What a blessing your words (and family) are to us!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I'm sure Trent feels the same way about you too! Your kids are going to love to read this post one day and know how much they were loved by two wonderful parents even before they could recollect specific memories of said love.

Stephanie said...

SO Sweet! I am crying too...
and WOW, it sounds like Trent really is an amazing dad and husband. I'm so glad to know that. Yay trent! :)
PS- You talking about when you guys first met and started dating reminds me of the new country song "Then" by Brad Paisley. If you haven't heard it, you must find it on itunes today! It's a tear-jerker, but you'll love it!

Amanda B said...

Ok, it made me a little teary too. What a beautiful post - I hope Trent reads this stuff!