The One on Father's Day

As little girls, our daddy is the first man to sweep us off our feet. We grow up hoping one day to find a man that will not only do the same, but will be a good father to our own children. I found one. I went looking for some photos of him and the kids. I ended up looking through photos for well over an hour. It went something like "OH MY GOODNESS! Look how little (insert name of child here) was" repeated for every photo. Seriously though. When did my children grow up? I look at them and think I still see that same little face but when you look at old photos you really can see how much they have grown. It's not just the kids either. My husband and I might have aged just a little. 

Through the years, we've celebrated many Father's Days, birthdays and every other holiday on the calendar thousands of miles apart. I think we've sort of put up a wall to holidays. In order to get through them all when you aren't together, we just give it a little nod and then act like it's just another day. In a way, it's worked out because we have learned to appreciate every day as a special one because when the next one comes, we might be celebrating it from across the miles. Some of the bigger holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, we've rearranged some years to accommodate deployments. We've had Thanksgiving in June and Christmas in February. It's made for some very different family traditions over the years and I am thankful for every single one of them. I think our favorite 'holiday' are the homecomings. 

Despite the things we have had to overcome, my children still look at their father and not only call him daddy but they call him their hero. The years apart make the time spent together mean that much more. I couldn't ask for a better man to call husband and a better father to my children. We love you and miss you and are counting the days again until you come home. Happy Father's Day. And to the two men in my life that I call Dad, Happy Father's Day. I love you more than I could ever say and am so grateful for the things you have taught me over the years.

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