Father's Day

How lucky I am to be married to Matthew! He is such a wonderful father to our handsome boys. He is very attentive to them and loves to play with them. He's so helpful to me with them also. From the very start when Malcolm was born he was helpful. The first night home from the hospital he took Malcolm so I could get a few hours of much needed sleep. He just loved him too. We would fight over (not literally) who got to hold him and such...but we never fought over the diaper changing. While I was working full-time after Malcolm was born he had the opportunity just to have time as the two of them. They bonded very quickly. Both the boys love their Daddy, and all the things he loves too...motorcycles, video games...etc. Happy Father's Day Matthew. I am so thankful for you and your love for our children!
I can't think of Father's Day with out thinking of my own Daddy! (All my pictures of Dad are at home.) I miss him so much and Father's Day without him is hard. My Dad wasn't perfect, but after you lose someone you tend to think only of the good, that's not a bad thing. It was hard not living with my Dad. I cried for him a lot, even after high school. I didn't see him a lot, between my teenage years of being all about friends, and Dad being a farmer and father of 16 kids...we didn't have much opportunities to have time together. It's hard not to regret all the times I missed out on. I wish he would have taken more time to be involved in my life...and I wish I would have taken more time to be involved in his. I also regret not calling him after getting engaged and Matt talking to him. Every time that day that I thought of calling him, I just thought I would call him later that night. I think I didn't want to make a big deal out of it...I don't know...I just put it off, and then I never had the opportunity to talk to him again. Man I missed out!!! But in reality, I can't change the past. I only rarely think about the regrets, I am mostly just grateful for how long Dad was in my life.

Thinking of Dad on Father's Day makes me think of everything I did love about him. Now I won't be able to write this list without totally bawling. (Hopefully I can write through the tears!) I loved his nerdy sense of humor. I loved his laugh. I loved his cheesy smile. I loved how he loved farming. I loved the way he smelt after his shower...much better then when he'd come home. The smell of carmex and Vaseline intensive care lotion and stetson aftershave remind me of Dad! I loved when he would sing rock-a-bye-baby off key. He would only sing it to the little ones...but every once in a while he would come to my room and sing it to me. I loved how he loved to play. When he would wrestle with the boys. He always had to win. I didn't love when he'd wear his high school wrestling singlet. When we would go Tri-Cities with the youth to hockey game, and he would do Chinese fire drills. Play kick the can with us. What I loved and miss the most is when he would hold me on his lap, even when I was 19, and rock me. I miss feeling like a Daddy's little girl.

Dad really was fun. Dad was THE BEST slalom water skier!! I'm serious, he was great at it. He would wear his hat and sunglasses because most the time he wouldn't even wreck. But when he did, he would lose his stuff. He would also hoot and holler while he was skiing. He would cut the wake so hard that he would almost be horizontal with the water. I loved watching him. Twin lakes was some of the best memories. I love all the times we shared on the boat. Although I'm not that great, and it's been many years...I have always loved slaloming. I'm always wanted to be as good as my Dad. I love you so much Daddy. I miss you and still cry for you! I can't wait to see you again.

(There's a picture of Dad I have that is almost like this. It just reminds me of watching Dad water ski. Of course this doesn't look like Dad.)

I also have to mention Mike my step Dad. What a great guy he is. He has always been there for us kids and supported us in everything. He has gone to several family things on the Bushman side that I'm sure is awkward and uncomfortable. I love him for loving us. I'm proud to call him my Dad! I love you Pop!! Happy Father's Day!