Lucky Lady

I'm not a big believer in luck.  But I don't want to get philosophical, or deep into the sociology of the family.  I simply want to get this point across:

On Father's Day I'm reminded I've been very blessed in the "man" aspect of my life.

Not our Rambler, but this is what it looked like.

My dad is a great dad.  I don't know anyone more patient and less apt to anger.  Yet I remember a night when a group of rowdy teenagers threw a water balloon at my bedroom window.  The glass was thin, it could have easily broken the window.  The balloon hit hard, and they sped away by car. I was young, just a small child.  My dad jumped in his 1963 Rambler and took off after them. [Mind you, this was the 1970s.  An adult male could give kids a good talking to.  Dad DID NOT take the shot gun along.]  He got a good look, but didn't catch them.  Being a junior high teacher he knew all of the high schoolers on our side of town.  These guys were from "uptown" as we called it.  He didn't know them.  But I realized that my dad, though reserved and friendly, didn't respond kindly to anyone who might hurt his little girl.  My dad gets an A grade in the protector and provider categories of fatherhood.

Likewise, my husband is a super dad.  His decisions are based on how they'll affect his family.  His free time is spent his kids. My husband is a bright man.  He has an advanced degree.  He's a type A, competitive, driven male.  He could quite easily fit into the workaholic category.  I have no doubt, if he desired, he could be rather successful in the worldly sort of way.  Yet, that's not his priority or his aim.

If you asked me as a mother, what I desire most from my children's father, I would say:

Someone who allows our children to be who God created them to be.

In other words, freedom.  Molding them and helping them become who they are.  Not necessarily becoming someone terrifically prosperous or famous or "world changing".  A dad who works so his kids can achieve what they're meant to.  Not a father who drives them to become the next great athlete or academic all star.  But a dad who wants them to be content and secure.

Happy Father's Day to my husband for doing just that!