To the Dads That Are There With Us
To the Dads That Are There With Us,
In the trenches, parenting and bouncing and soothing and feeding.
Waking up for the night shift. Making pancakes bleary eyed with a cold cup of coffee. Taking the kids to the park on your only sunny afternoon off.
We love you.
You are the glue that holds our family together. You are the steady hand, the constant, the counterbalance to a life filled with love.
Crazy, exhausting, beautiful love.
On the days when we, the moms, have started to crumble, you’ve been the rock that’s steadied us. You’ve grounded us, reminded us that there IS an us. You stuck it out through all of the ups and downs the we thought for sure would sink our marriage or our sanity. You rode the waves with us.
You did so much more than just stick around, you gave our children the dad they deserved. You have rocked that sh*t.
More times than we’ll ever remember, you put our kids ahead of yourself. You gave up a night of video games to comfort a sick baby. You did the dishes and the laundry, not as a favor, but because helping is a part of who you are.
When strangers ask us where our kids are at the grocery store or the bank, and when we say they’re with you, we shudder at the condescending assumption that you’re babysitting – as if you caring for your children is anything but normal, anything but the kind of father you are.
We know you’re busy. We know it’s thankless work sometimes. And we know that for all of the love and support moms get, sometimes it’s the dads who get left out of the conversation. Sometimes it’s the dads who society assumes are more than okay already.
But we know that’s not always the case. We know that, just like us moms, you skip a lot of meals because you’re too busy to remember to eat. That you don’t have time to work out because the kids never sleep. That some days, you are so, so lonely, and somehow never truly alone.
And so this Father’s Day, we’re insisting that you remember who you are under all that you do for everyone else. We’re insisting that you do something that brings you joy. We’re insisting that you give yourself permission to put yourself first, even if your guilt will only let you do it for today.
You are so impressive. You are so freaking incredible, and we wouldn’t want to do this without you.
