Tuesday, January 24, 2012

"It Is What I Do"

I have to write today about my husband.  He is an awesome husband, but that is not what today is about.  Today is about him being a great daddy to my four favorite little girls.



He didn’t know when we first started tying to have children all those years ago that he would one day be the lone male in a house with 5 women, big and small, and 3 female pets to boot.  He didn’t know that tiara’s, hair barrettes and magic wands would be the ideal attire to any family dinner.  He didn’t understand the drama, screaming and emotions that can surface with a crowd of so many women all wanting the same yellow sparkly dress at the very same moment.  He didn’t understand how long it takes to blow dry four little heads with lots of hair and he didn’t understand how gentle he would have to become when holding the tender hearts of so many little women.



But, he also didn’t realize how his heart would melt when his own little girl looked up at him with an adoring smile.  He didn’t know that being the “daddy monster” and wrestling four little girls would be an entire day’s calorie burn.  The laughing alone takes care of one meal.  He didn’t understand that little arms wrapped around his neck and slobbery kisses on his cheeks after an exhausting and frustrating day would melt the world away. 



He would do, and does, anything for his girls.  This past weekend my daughter had a school carnival and the three oldest each cashed in their piles of tokens for solar powered head bobbing dolls (because Great Grandma has a flower on her window sill that they all love).  After having to exchange one right away because it had broken I knew these wouldn’t last long.  Sure enough, before we could even get home, my oldest opened hers in the car before I was even able to get the “don’t open anything in here so we don’t loose pieces” warning out there.  We had the shell, but not the working parts anymore.  I later found them crunched between the seat and the side of the van.  To me it was a lost cause, to my husband, her daddy, it was a challenge.  It was a challenge he would spend precious time on after a long and exhausting day of events at nearly 10pm. 



Still dressed in his most festive shirt he could muster for the carnival, since he was working the “Bozo Buckets”, he goes out in the freezing garage and finds the tools.  I was finishing up things around the house and getting the day put away when I come to the kitchen and find him with a heated soldering iron working on this toy worth pennies.  I asked him what he was doing and he just said “It is what I do!”



It is what he does.  Though, admittedly, not very convenient at times for myself, I understand why he does it and that his girls will always have a daddy that helps them fix things and make them all better again whether it be a toy, a car, or a broken heart.

He didn’t know it all those years ago, but he would one day be the best man that these five women could ask for.