Happy Fathers Day!

Last night I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned all night. I watched a movie, listened to my Ipod, and stared at the wall. It generally was a sucky night all the way round. Yet I finally did sleep for a few hours and awakened to the prospect of a very nice day. Fathers Day!

My first guilty pleasure of the day was to wake up my alarm clock, that is, I woke up The Princess before she could rise and disturb MY slumber - as is the general norm on weekends.

She woke in a surprisingly good mood and when I suggested we go take a walk she was up and dressed before I could say, "let's go". So my second great moment this morning was to take a leisurely walk (well, The Princess scootered while I walked) with my daughter and to talk with her about whatever caught the attention of her five year old interest as we ambled through our neighborhood to the local store.

Once there we bought a Sunday paper, a Sprite, and a bag of salt & vinegar potato crisps and took our place at one of the two little booths in the front window of the store. We talked about her scooter, floods, polar bears, and brushfires. Odd subjects I know, but that was what caught her fancy today. Then I pulled out the Sunday comics and together we read "Rose is Rose", "Peanuts", "Garfield", and "The Amazing Spiderman". She then announced, "We've got to go home, I havta go potty", bringing our paper reading to an abrupt end.

As we set out on the meandering walk home I was reminded of those "Family Circus" one panel comics where the artist showed the twisting, winding, dotted path "Billy" would take through his neighborhood, backyard, or playground. No straight lines, ever! That is a morning walk with a five year old.

We returned home and I got my next Father's Day treat. My long suffering mother is visiting from the great white north and was only too happy to entertain The Princess for a while as I got to read the Sunday paper and drink my coffee, an incredibly rare treat indeed!

There is something awesomely humbling when you see your parent(s) and your child(ren) together. I watched Grandma and Princess play outside and I realized that a hundred years ago, or so it seemed, she did the exact same thing with ME! It made me appreciate that no matter what happens in life, no matter how sucky your night was, come morning, I am here for my child, I am here for my Princess, and always will be. Just like Mom & Dad were there for me, I will always be there for The Princess. That's when I realized that it's not the cards or the gifts that make it Father's Day, it's your children!

They are the sum of the love of a mother and a father. They are the best of our hopes and dreams for the future. They are the reason we get up and smile even after the world has beat us down or, in my case, just given me the worst night's sleep ever. The sweetest sound I heard today was The Princess telling me, "I love you Daddy!" Have a very Happy Father's Day!