Fathers

I have heard the expression, "Any man can be a father; it takes a real man to be a dad" more times than I can remember. I have found over the years that it is so very true. My husband is one of those cool men that is a daddy. My kids love him so much! They get so excited when he comes home from work. They are so happy when he plays with them. To this day, my favorite thing to hear is the sound of them laughing and squealing while they play with him. 8 years now he's been a daddy. From the moment Julia was born, he was in love. I remember when we were finally able to hold her, after a week and a half or so of her birth. He was holding her and just smiling. I asked for her back... and he looked at me with this almost fearful expression. He pulled her closer to him and said, "No! MY Julia time!" I also remember when he came home from basic training. Nathaniel was 7 weeks old when he left; he came home to a 5 month old, moving, grooving, laughing baby. That first night, about 1 in the morning, Nathaniel woke up. He NEVER woke up at night by then. He woke up though, and I went to get him. He and Randy were up for an hour and half, getting to know each other again and enjoying every minute. Randy is so good them. He is so gentle with Julia when she is undergoing more surgery or is so worn out from therapy, karate, school, whatever. He hates so much that she has to have a g-tube, but for nearly 5 years now, except for his deployment, he has been the one to hook up her feedings, stop them, check the machine, etc. Even at 4 in the morning, there he is, making sure she's getting what she needs and letting me sleep. I also love watching him with Nathaniel. Their favorite thing to do is play video games together, and it is awesome!
When I am old, and have dementia, and can't remember my own name, I hope I will remember Randy with the kids. Especially those first two memories I mentioned... they make my heart happy.





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