Father's Day

I celebrated my 5th Father's Day yesterday and I think it was the best one to date. I was happy when posed the question of "what did you do for Father's Day" because I had a blast. I didn't get a free pass to do whatever I want with whomever I want. That means I didn't go anywhere lavish or do anything extravagant. So what did I do for Father's Day? I'll tell you the response I gave to my dad as we were exchanging warm wishes over the phone yesterday.

I happily told my dad that I'm sitting at home with the kids while Lizette is hard at work. You see, she had to work this weekend even though she wanted to take at least Sunday off. You know, so I could go somewhere lavish or do something extravagant. She had to put in a 12 hour day at the hospital, however, so I was more than happy to stay at home with the kids all day.

I won't pretend that I do back breaking work at my job. I have a nice desk in a nice office and I crunch numbers all day in the accounting department. I'm not working the floor as a CNA like my wife. If there's someone's work ethic to be admired, it's hers. But for 40 hours a week I do my job and it takes its mental toll. I love nothing more than being able to unwind selfishly after a hard week of work. Truth be told, it's more strenuous taking care of my kids than it is punching the clock.

That said, this past weekend was going to be spent watching the kids rather than maxing and relaxing. Come Monday morning I felt even more exhausted than when I started the weekend, but I also felt very accomplished. The kids and/or myself didn't destroy anything around the house and for the most part the weekend went smoothly. So when I sat down and was asked to recount what I did for Father's Day today at work, I didn't have a story about going anywhere special or doing anything out of the ordinary. I got to talk proudly about what's special and ordinary to me - doing my best to be a good father to my two boys and also being a good husband to my loving wife. Happy belated Father's Day to all you dads out there.