Father's Day Post-Mortem

It's almost 9AM on the Monday after Fathers' Day and I am heartwarmed and thankful. On Saturday we cleaned house (we're still not done) after neglecting it for what feels like months and I've already gone through buckets of dust, dirt and grime. In the evening, we went up to my parents' house to celebrate with Dad. Great tri-tip! It was fun also being able to bond with the new addition to the family, my nephew Evan. We got home late that evening, spending the night in the living room.

The following morning, the two pounce on me greeting me with a loud Happy Fathers' Day. From Jake, I get a SIGG bottle that's pretty cool in design -- like I picked it out myself -- and a Gap vest which, may I add, I am sporting today. I get a card from Louie Lou and from the wife I get a card with a promise of a Wii Fit once she can get her hands on one. I also got a DVD she made for me filled with pictures of us and of me and Jake and I have to say it brought me to tears.

I'm thankful for a wife who loves me unconditionally, who understands me, who makes me incredibly happy and who I just love hanging out with. I'm thankful for a son who indulges Daddy with hugs and kisses and who has more energy that I can sometimes manage. He's always ready to made Dad laugh and impresses me everyday with the things he is learning about the world. I close my eyes sometimes and I see sometime in the future that a very lucky young lady will be impressed with him, with the way he was brought up, with his intellect and acute understanding of love and life. He'll impress her enough that she'll fall in love with him and he will make her a happy woman. And well, it doesn't hurt that he's a handsome young man himself.

I love how smart he is, how quickly he picks things up. I love his sensitivity and how he tries so hard not to disappoint his mom and me. Sure he has his moments and they are quite a few, where he isn't so saintly. But, all in all, he is a great kid, and I see more and more everyday why it was love at first sight with me and him. He is the reason I strive to be a better me.

Between Jake and the wife, I work hard everyday to be the man, the husband and the father they deserve. So on this Monday after my sixth Fathers' Day, thank you both for reminding me how much you love me and appreciate me. I am very, very blessed.